US factory orders up 1.4% in February, beating estimates

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US factory orders rose 1.4% in February, more than market estimates, according to Commerce Department figures released Tuesday.

New orders for manufactured goods climbed $8.2 billion to reach $576.8 billion, rising after two consecutive monthly declines.

The expectation for the figure, which measures the change in the value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers, was to show a gain of 1.1%.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in February rose $3.5 billion, or 1.3%, to $277.7 billion – also up after two consecutive monthly decreases.

Transportation equipment led the increase with a gain of $2.9 billion, or 3.3%, to $90.4 billion.