U.S. factory orders unexpectedly unchanged in February

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the value of new factory orders was unchanged m-o-m in February, following an unrevised 0.5 percent m-o-m drop in January.

Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent m-o-m gain.

According to the report, orders for transportation equipment rose 4.6 percent m-o-m in February after a 1.0 percent m-o-m drop in January, while orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components increased 1.3 percent m-o-m in February after a 1.1 drop in the previous month. However, these gains were offset by drops in orders for fabricated metal products (-1.1 percent m-o-m), primary metals (-1.0 percent m-o-m), computers and electronic products (-0.7 percent m-o-m), and machinery (-0.6 percent m-o-m).

Total factory orders excluding transportation, a volatile part of the overall reading, declined 0.9 percent m-o-m in February (compared to a revised 0.4 percent m-o-m growth in January), while orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a measure of business spending plans, also dropped 0.9 percent m-o-m, instead of declining 0.8 percent m-o-m as reported last month. The report also showed that shipments of core capital goods decreased 0.8 percent m-o-m in February, rather than dropping 0.7 percent m-o-m as previously reported.