Durable Goods Up Unexpectedly

The Commerce Department said new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods unexpectedly rebounded in February, rising for the first time in seven months. The report said durable goods orders rose 3.4% to $165.6 billion in February, the biggest increase since December 2007, after a revised 7.3% plunge the prior month, previously reported as a 4.5% decline.

New orders excluding transportation rose 3.9% in February, the largest gain since August 2005, while civilian aircraft and parts dropped 28.9%. Non-defense capital goods orders, a closely watched proxy for business spending, expanded 6.6% in February. The prior month was revised to an 11.3% drop, previously reported as a 5.7% decline. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected overall new orders to fall 2% in February, and orders excluding transportation to drop 2%.