US durable goods orders rise in June to beat estimates

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US durable goods orders rose in June to beat a forecast of a declining number, according to data released Wednesday.

New orders for manufactured durable goods rose $5 billion, or 1.9%, to $272.6 billion, the US Commerce Department's Census Bureau said in a report.

The rise, which marks the eighth increase in the last nine months, follows a 0.8% gain in May.

Estimates for the figure were for it to show a 0.5% decrease.

Transportation equipment, which was up for a third straight month, led the increase with a $4.5 billion gain, or 5.1%, to reach $92.7 billion.

"Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.3%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.4%," said the report.