US durable goods orders rise more than forecast

LONDON (ShareCast) - US durable goods orders rose more than expected in March, driven by demand for autos, commercial jets and military hardware. Orders increased 4% last month, compared to a 1.4% drop in February and analysts' estimates for a 0.6% gain.

"The 4.0% month-on-month rise in durable goods orders in March was entirely due to a sharp rise in transportation orders and suggests that business investment in equipment remains weak," said Capital Economics assistant economist Adam Collins.

Orders for motor vehicles and parts increased by 5.4%, those for defence aircraft by by 17% and those for non-defence aircraft by an additional 30.6%. Excluding the above increases orders for durable goods would have been flat last month. If all transportation related sectors are excluded then the total tally would have been a fall of 0.2% over the month, for a sixth consecutive drop. That provides "a better reflection of the headwinds facing the domestic manufacturing sector," said Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) following the release.

On the basis of the above data the bank´s economists lowered their "tracking" estimate for US gross domestic product in the first quarter to 1.1%.