US durable goods orders rise slightly in September

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Sharecast News | 27 Sep, 2023

Updated : 14:02

Orders for durable goods rose slightly last month, alongside a sharp rise in those for so-called core capital goods, which are considered a good lead indicator for business investment.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, durable goods orders edged up by 0.2% month-on-month to reach $284.7bn.

Economists had penciled in a drop of 0.5%.

Orders excluding transportation meanwhile were up by 0.4%.

Those for electrical equipment and appliances increased by 1.1% and those for fabricated metal products and machinery both by 0.5%.

Motor vehicles and parts orders were ahead by 0.3%.

Core capital goods orders, which are those for goods meant to last more than three years and excluding defense and aircraft, jumped by 0.9% in comparison to the previous month.

"Despite the improvement to underlying capital goods shipments, which feed directly into the BEA’s estimates, business equipment investment still looks set to slow sharply from the 7.7% annualised gain in the second quarter," said Olivia Cross at Capital Economics.

"Moreover, headwinds to the sector are likely to grow over the rest of the year as tighter credit conditions weigh more heavily on investment and economic growth weakens."

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