U.S. durable goods orders increase less than expected in May

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the durable goods orders rose 2.3 percent m-o-m in May, following a revised 0.8 percent m-o-m drop in April (originally a 1.3 percent m-o-m decline). This was the largest monthly advance in durable goods orders since January.

Economists had forecast a 2.8 percent m-o-m increase.

According to the report, the May gain was driven by a 7.6 percent m-o-m climb in orders for transportation equipment. Meanwhile, orders for durable goods excluding transportation edged up 0.3 percent m-o-m in May, following a revised 1.7 percent m-o-m increase in April (originally a 1.0 percent m-o-m gain), missing economists’ forecast for a 0.8 percent m-o-m advance.

Elsewhere, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, decreased 0.1 percent m-o-m in May after a revised 2.7 percent jump m-o-m in April (originally a 2.2 percent m-o-m gain). Economists had called for a 0.6 percent m-o-m increase in core capital goods orders in May.

Shipments of these core capital goods went up 0.9 percent m-o-m in May after a revised 1.0 percent m-o-m rise in the prior month (originally a 0.9 percent m-o-m increase).