U.S. Durable Goods Orders Unexpectedly Rise In April But March Jump Downwardly Revised

(RTTNews) - New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly increased in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday, although the growth came following a significantly downwardly revised jump in March.

The report said durable goods orders climbed by 0.7 percent in April following a downwardly revised 0.8 percent advance in March.

Economist had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.8 percent compared to the 2.6 percent spike originally reported for the previous month.

"Contrary to what the headline suggests, we see little signs of relief for durable goods in the latest report," said Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin. "Any reassuring sign from the April data is tempered by downward revisions to prior months."

The unexpected increase by durable goods orders partly reflected continued strength in orders for transportation equipment, which shot up by 1.2 percent in April after surging by 2.5 percent in March.

While orders for non-defense aircraft and parts plummeted by 8.0 percent after soaring in the previous month, orders for defense aircraft and parts leapt by 2.5 percent and orders for motor vehicles and parts jumped by 1.5 percent.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.4 percent in April after coming in unchanged in March. Ex-transportation orders were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Orders for primary metals and electrical equipment, appliances and components saw notable growth, while orders for computers and electronic products, machinery and fabricated metal products also rose.

The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, rose by 0.3 percent in April after edging down by 0.1 percent.

Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, climbed by 0.4 percent in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March.