The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that the durable
goods orders climbed 3.2 percent m-o-m in March, following a downwardly revised
1.2 percent m-o-m fall (from -1.0 percent m-o-m) in February. That was the
first monthly rise in durable goods orders in three months.
Economists had forecast a 0.7 percent m-o-m increase.
According to the report, the March advance was underpinned by gains in
orders in 8 of 9 sectors, led transportation equipment (+9.1 percent m-o-m) and
capital goods (+8.7 percent m-o-m).
Meanwhile, orders for durable goods excluding transportation went up 0.3
percent m-o-m in March, following a downwardly revised 0.3 percent m-o-m decrease
(from flat m-o-m) in the previous month, better than economists’ prediction of a 0.2 percent m-o-m fall.
Elsewhere, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a
closely watched proxy for business spending plans, declined 0.4 percent m-o-m
last month after a downwardly revised 0.7 percent m-o-m drop (from +0.2 percent
m-o-m) in February. Economists had called for a 0.1 percent m-o-m slip in core
capital goods orders in March.
On a y-o-y basis, durable goods orders surged 3.3 percent, while orders,
excluding transportation, increased 1.5 percent.