WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods soared by much more than expected in the month of April.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders spiked by 7.9 percent in April after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in March.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to surge by 2.8 percent compared to the 0.8 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.
The much bigger than expected increase by durable goods orders partly reflected a spike in orders for transportation equipment, which soared by 21.5 percent in April after jumping by 1.7 percent in March.
Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the way higher, skyrocketing by 165.9 percent in April after plunging by 23.0 percent in March.
Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders shot up by 1.1 percent in April, matching an upwardly revised increase in March. Ex-transportation orders were expected to climb by 0.4 percent.
The report showed a 3.5 percent surge in orders for fabricated metal products and a 1.9 percent jump in order for primary metals, which helped offset a pullback in orders for computers and electronic products.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, slumped by 1.1 percent in April after spiking by 3.9 percent in March.
Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, rose by 0.4 percent in April after jumping by 1.3 percent in March.
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