U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise 0.2% In October, Less Than Expected

(RTTNews) - The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased by less than expected in the month of October.

The report said durable goods orders crept up by 0.2 in October after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in September.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.7 percent decrease that had been reported for the previous month.

The uptick by durable goods orders partly reflected a rebound by orders for transportation, which rose by 0.5 percent in October after tumbling by 1.9 percent in September. Orders for aircraft and parts led the recovery.

Excluding the increase by orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders inched up by 0.1 in October after rising by 0.4 percent in September. Ex-transportation orders were expected to edge up by 0.2 percent.

Orders for both communications equipment and electrical equipment, appliances and components jumped by 1.3 percent, while orders for computers and related products plunged by 2.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the report said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, slipped by 0.2 percent in October after rising by 0.3 percent in September.

"Core orders, which are a better gauge of future capital spending by companies, fell even more than our below-consensus forecast had anticipated," said Bernard Yaros, US Lead Economist at Oxford Economics.

He added, "We think part of the weakness can be explained by heightened policy uncertainty prior to the election."

Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, rose by 0.2 percent in October after edging down by 0.1 percent in September.