Upside surprise for US durable goods orders for September

Outlays on investment goods continued growing at a steady pace last month, boosted by orders for transportation equipment.

In seasonally adjusted terms, according to the Department of Commerce, new orders for durable goods, those made to last more than three years, grew at a month-on-month pace of 1.9% to reach $237.1bn.

Economists had penciled-in an increase of 1.0%.

Excluding transportation, new orders grew by 0.8% and without Defence by 3.4%.

Orders for transportation equipment were especially strong, rising by 4.1% on the month to hit $76.8bn, while those for motor vehicles and parts were up by 1.5% to $62.4bn.

Those for primary metals meanwhile were up by 4.0% on August to $19.3bn and those for fabricated metal products by 1.2% at $30.1bn.

In parallel however, orders for computers and related products declined by 3.1% while those for communications equipment improved by 1.4%.

Core capital goods orders excluding Defence and aircraft - considered a good lead indicator for trends in business investment - increased by 1.0% following a 2.1% gain in the month before.

The month-on-month rise in total new orders for durable goods in August was revised lower by a tenth of a percentage point to 0.4%.

In comparison to a year ago nevertheless, total durable goods orders were running 10.1% below their year ago levels.