US durable goods orders rise unexpectedly in April

Durable goods orders in the US rose unexpectedly in April, but on the back of a sharp downwards revision to the prior month's figures.

According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted orders for durable goods increased at a month-on-month pace of 0.7% last month to reach $284.1bn (consensus: -0.8%).

However, March's rise was revised down from a preliminary estimate of 2.6% to 0.8%.

Excluding those from the transportation sector then orders were up by 0.4%, while without those linked to Defence they were flat.

Year-to-date, total orders were up by 0.5% on a year ago.

Orders for motor vehicles and parts held up well, rising by 1.5% to $64.5bn, whilst those for computers jumped by 3.9% to $2.3bn.

Core capital goods orders meanwhile were up by 0.3%, having risen by 1.2% year-to-date, whilst shipments were ahead by 0.4% on the month.

"The 0.4% m/m rise in underlying capital goods shipments was also a bit better than we expected," said Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

"Nonetheless, after the falls in the previous two months, underlying capital goods shipments are still on track for muted growth this quarter, which is consistent with business equipment investment growth slowing after the modest 2.1% annualised gain in the first quarter."