Orders for costly US manufactured goods fell in May for the second month in a row, the US government said today, a sign of economic weakness that comes at a time when Federal Reserve officials are meeting to discuss interest rates.
US durable goods orders sank 0.3 per cent last month - in contrast to the expectations of private economists that they would rise 0.8 per cent.
The data from the Commerce Department showed April orders plunged 2.4 per cent, revised down from an earlier reported 2.3 per cent drop.
The report showed broad-based weakness in demand for big-ticket items, with categories such as cars, computers and machinery showing declines.
Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders edged up 0.2 per cent, a much weaker showing than the 1 per cent gain projected by economists in a Reuters survey.