U.S. durable-goods orders rise 0.1% in August

U.S. durable-goods orders rise 0.1% in August

Orders for big-ticket U.S. goods edged up 0.1% in August, largely because of strong demand for autos. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected orders to drop a seasonally adjusted 1.5%. Stripping out the volatile transportation sector, orders fell 0.1%, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Orders for core capital goods, a proxy for business investment, climbed 1.5% to record the fifth gain in six months. Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to help calculate quarterly U.S. growth, rose 1.3%. That could give a small boost to third-quarter growth projections. Durable-goods orders for July, meanwhile, were revised down to show an 8.1% drop from a prior reading of a 7.4% decline. In the first eight months of 2013, orders for durable goods have risen a moderate 4.1% compared to the same period in 2012. Core orders are up 4% in the same span.