Durable Goods Orders Rose in July

Washington, DC, Aug. 27, 2008--New orders for durable U.S. manufactured goods jumped  1.3 percent in July, while a gauge of business investment also rose unexpectedly, according to the Commerce Department.
 
Orders for durable goods, items meant to last three years or more, were up after a revised 1.3 percent gain in June, the Commerce Department said. Analysts were expecting durables orders to remain unchanged from the previous month.

Transportation orders rose 3.1 percent in July, the largest gain since February, on a 28 percent rise in civilian aircraft orders.

Orders for machinery and primary and fabricated metals rose, while demand for computers and appliances waned.

Even when volatile transportation orders were stripped out, demand for durables rose 0.7 percent. Analysts had expected a 0.5 percent drop in durables orders excluding transportation.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, seen as a barometer of business spending, jumped 2.6 percent, the steepest gain since April.