U.S. factory orders rise more than expected in October

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Friday that the value of new factory orders rose 1.0 percent m-o-m in October, following a revised 1.3 percent m-o-m advance in September (originally a 1.1 percent m-o-m gain). That marked the sixth consecutive month of gains in factory orders.

Economists had forecast a 0.8 percent m-o-m increase.

According to the report, orders for transportation equipment increased 1.4 percent m-o-m in October. Gains also occurred in fabricated metal products (+2.3 percent m-o-m) and computers and electronic products (+3.2 percent m-o-m). These increases, however, were partially offset by a decline in new orders for machinery (-0.3 percent m-o-m).

Meanwhile, total factory orders excluding transportation, a volatile part of the overall reading, also rose 1.0 percent m-o-m in October (compared to an upwardly revised 0.9 percent m-o-m gain in September), while orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a measure of business spending plans, increased 0.8 percent m-o-m (compared to a 2.1 percent m-o-m jump in the previous month). The report also showed that shipments of core capital goods surged 2.4 percent m-o-m in October, rather than gaining 2.3 percent m-o-m as previously reported.