US durable goods orders jump in September on defence aircraft

Durable goods orders in the States jumped unexpectedly last month, buoyed by those for defence aircraft.

Total orders for goods made to last at least three years increased by 0.8% over the month to reach $262.1bn, according to the Department of Commerce, whereas economists had projected a drop of 1.0%.

Within the above, orders for military aircraft and parts more than doubled, soaring by 119.1% to $11.7bn.

Orders for transportation equipment meanwhile were higher by 1.9% month-on-month to $97.36bn, those for machinery by 0.8% to $33.5bn and those for primary metals by 0.1% to $22.19bn.

However, excluding orders for transportation equipment, a closely-followed gauge by analysts of the underlying demand for durable goods, orders were up by just 0.1% in comparison to August, at $164.7bn (consensus: 0.3%).

Similarly, orders for so-called 'core' capital goods, or for those excluding both defence and aircraft, were down by 0.1% on the month to $69.62bn (Barclays: 1.4%).

In comparison to a year-ago, total orders were 8.9% higher.