The U.S.
Commerce Department announced on Tuesday that the value of new factory orders climbed
by 1.4 per cent m-o-m in February, following a downwardly revised 3.8 per cent m-o-m plunge (from -3.6 per cent
m-o-m) in January. This marked the first rise in factory orders in three
months.
Economists had forecast
a gain of 1.0 per cent m-o-m for February.
According to
the report, orders for durable goods jumped 1.3 per cent m-o-m in February, while orders for nondurable goods surged by
1.6 per cent m-o-m.
Total factory
orders excluding transportation, a volatile part of the overall reading, soared
by 1.1 per cent m-o-m (compared to an upwardly revised 0.6 per cent m-o-m decline
(from -0.8 per cent m-o-m) in January), while orders for nondefense capital
goods excluding aircraft, a measure of business spending plans, increased 0.7
per cent m-o-m (compared to a 0.3 per
cent m-o-m fall in January and matching
last month’s estimate of +0.7 per cent m-o-m).