U.S. durable goods orders plunge less than forecast in April

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the durable goods orders tumbled 17.2 percent m-o-m in April, following a revised 16.6 percent m-o-m plunge in February (originally a 14.4 percent m-o-m decline). That was the biggest drop in durable goods orders since August 2014.

Economists had forecast a 19.0 percent m-o-m slump.

According to the report, orders for durable goods excluding transportation fell 7.4 percent m-o-m in April, following a revised 1.7 percent m-o-m decrease in March (originally a drop of 0.2 percent m-o-m), much better than the economists’ forecast of 14.0 percent m-o-m decline.

Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, decreased 5.8 percent m-o-m in April after a revised 1.1 percent fall m-o-m in March (originally a 0.1 percent m-o-m decrease). Economists had called for a 10.0 percent m-o-m plunge in core capital goods orders in March.

Shipments of these core capital goods fell 5.4 percent m-o-m in April after a 1.2 percent m-o-m drop in the prior month.