U.S. Durable Goods Orders Pull Back Sharply In April

(RTTNews) - With orders for transportation equipment pulling back sharply, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing a steep drop by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders plunged by 6.3 percent in April after surging by a downwardly revised 7.6 percent in March.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to plummet by 7.9 percent compared to the 9.2 percent spike that had been reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, excluding a 17.1 percent nosedive by orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.2 percent in May after dipping by 0.2 percent in April. Ex-transportation orders were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent.