US factory orders up slight 0.3 per cent in September
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WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories increased a modest amount in September even though a key category that tracks business investment plans fell by the largest amount since February.
Factory orders edged up a slight 0.3 per cent in September following a 0.4 per cent advance in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Orders in a category that serves as a proxy for business investment fell 1.3 per cent, reversing a 1.2 per cent increase in August. It was the biggest decline in the investment category since a 2.1 per cent plunge in February.
The hope is that manufacturers, who have been battered all year by a strong dollar and global weakness, will begin to see an improvement. Analysts think that the September drop in the investment category, non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, will be temporary.
Orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, fell by 0.3 per cent in September, slightly worse than the 0.1 per cent decline estimated last week in an advance report. Demand for non-durable goods, items such as chemicals and paper, increased 0.9 per cent after a 0.5 per cent rise in August.
