US factory orders up 1.6% in March

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US factory orders rose 1.6% in March, along with market estimates, according to Commerce Department figures released Thursday.

New orders for manufactured goods, which measures the change in the value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers, climbed $9.1 billion to reach $584.5 billion, rising for two consecutive months.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in March rose $7.3 billion, or 2.6%, to $283.3 billion – also up for two consecutive months.

Transportation equipment led the increase with a gain of $6.9 billion, or 7.8%, to reach $95.9 billion.

New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $1.9 billion, or 0.6%, to $301.2 billion.