Durable Goods Orders in U.S. Rise More Than Forecast
By Shobhana Chandra - Jun 27, 2012 8:42 AM ET
O
rders for durable goods climbed more than forecast in May, easing concern that U.S. manufacturing is faltering.
Bookings rose 1.1 percent, the first increase in three months, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 0.5 percent gain. Excluding the volatile transportation equipment, orders for goods meant to last at least three years advanced 0.4 percent.
“This comes as a relief that businesses aren’t completely cutting back,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, who projected a 1 percent gain in orders. “We still have to be quite cautious as there is considerable uncertainty. U.S. growth will be moderate.”
Growth is cooling as a slowdown in global markets emanating from Europe harms exports and curtails equipment spending, hurting sales at manufacturers like Joy Global Inc. (JOY) In addition, slackening demand from American households facing 8.2 percent unemployment may help explain why the Federal Reserve extended a plan to keep borrowing costs low.
Stock-index futures held earlier gains after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in September rose 0.2 percent to 1,318 at 8:41 a.m. in New York.
Survey estimates for bookings ranged from a decline of 1.5 percent to an increase of 2 percent. The Commerce Department revised the April reading to a 0.2 percent drop from unchanged as previously reported.
more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/orders-for-durable-goods-in-u-s-rise-more-than-forecast.html
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