Durable goods orders rise more than expected in July
Durable goods orders rose 4.4% in July, according to an advance report from the Department of Commerce.
Economists had forecast that orders for goods built to last for long rose 3.4%, according to Bloomberg. A downward revised print for June showed that orders fell 4.2%.
The increase, following two months of declines, was led by a surge in new orders for commercial aircraft. Orders across most other major categories except communications equipment were positive or flat for the month.
Excluding transportation, which tends to flutter from month to month, orders rose 1.5% (0.4% expected).
Inventories increased by 0.3% after six straight declines.
And, capital orders for nondefense goods excluding aircraft, or core durable goods, rose 1.6% (0.2% estimated), the most since January. Shipments in this category fell 0.4%.
“We expect further sustained gains ahead, consistent with the message from the upturn in the ISM manufacturing
new orders index,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a note. “Stronger capex is integral to our forecast for much stronger GDP growth in H2 and this report is a great start, though one good month is not enough.”
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