US durable goods orders fall 6.1% in January, more than estimates

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US durable goods orders plummeted 6.1% in January, falling more than estimates, according to a report released Tuesday by the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau.

New orders for manufactured durable goods were down for the third time in the last four months by decreasing $18 billion to $276.7 billion, it said in a statement.

The estimate was for the figure to show a monthly decline of 4.9%, following a 0.3% decrease in December.

Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.3%, the agency said in its report, adding new orders plummeted 7.3%, excluding defense.

"Transportation equipment, also down three of the last four months, led the decrease, $17.4 billion or 16.2 percent to $89.8 billion," it said.