New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods fell by more than expected in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday.
The report said durable goods orders tumbled by 1.1 percent in May after slumping by 0.9 percent in April. Economists had expected orders to drop by 0.6 percent.
The bigger than expected decrease in durable goods orders was primarily due to a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, which plunged by 3.4 percent in May after sliding by 1.8 percent in April.
Orders for aircraft and parts showed notable declines, with orders for defense aircraft and parts plummeting by 30.8 percent and orders for non-defense aircraft and parts diving by 11.7 percent.
Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders actually inched up by 0.1 percent in May after falling by 0.5 percent in April. Ex-transportation orders had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent.
The report said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched indicator of business spending, dipped by 0.2 percent in May after rising by 0.2 percent in April.
Shipments in the same category, which are used to calculate GDP, also fell by 0.2 percent in May after inching up by 0.1 percent in the previous month.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Forex News
