U.S. Durable Goods Orders Soar 16.4% In May, Much More Than Expected
(RTTNews) - New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked by much more than expected in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The report said durable goods orders soared by 16.4 percent in May after tumbling by a revised 6.6 percent in April.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to surge by 8.5 percent compared to the 6.3 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.
The bigger than expected increase by durable goods orders largely reflected a substantial rebound by orders for transportation equipment, which shot up by 48.3 in May after plunging by 17.6 percent in April.
Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the way higher, skyrocketing by 230.8 percent in May after plummeting by 51.6 percent in April.
Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable orders climbed by 0.5 percent in May after coming in unchanged in April. Ex-transportation orders were expected to come in flat.
Orders for computers and electronic products jumped by 1.5 percent, while orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components and fabricated metal products also saw notable growth.
The report also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, shot up by 1.7 percent in May after tumbling by 1.4 percent in April.
Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, rose by 0.5 percent in May after coming in unchanged in April.
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