US durable goods orders bounce back in March

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – US durable goods orders bounced backed on a monthly basis in March, according to official data released Tuesday.

New orders for manufactured durable goods rose $2.3 billion, or 0.8%, to $275 billion last month, the US Commerce Department's Census Bureau said in a statement.

This increase, up five of the last six months, followed a 1.7% decrease in February.

The market forecast was a 1% month-on-month rise in March's durable goods orders, which shows the change in the total value of new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods including transportation items.

Excluding transportation, new orders grew 1.1%, the Census Bureau said.

New orders excluding defense also posted an increase of 1.6% from a month ago.

"Computers and electronic products, up two of the last three months, led the increase, $0.7 billion or 2.6% to $26.3 billion," it said.