US orders for long-lasting durable goods rose by a smaller-than-expected 0.2 per cent in September, held back by another sharp fall in commercial aircraft, government data showed today.
US Treasury bond prices pared earlier gains on the report, which also contained encouraging signals for business investment which chimed with recent comments from the Federal Reserve suggesting it will continue to raise interest rates at a measured pace.
Wall Street had forecast a 0.5 per cent increase in orders for big-ticket items meant to last at least three years.
The previous month was also revised lower, to down 0.6 per cent from an earlier reported 0.3 per cent fall.
"The headline may be weaker than expected, but if you look at ex-transportation, it's up 1.7 per cent . I think the market will take this as a positive number," said Mr David Durrant, chief currency strategist at Bank Julius Baer.
Orders excluding the volatile transportation equipment category rose 1.7 per cent after a 2.8 per cent advance the previous month while demand for commercial aircraft fell 16.3 per cent after shrinking 46.3 per cent in August.