US factory orders beat expectations in March

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – US factory orders went remarkably up 2.2% in March, more than double of 1.1% estimations, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.

New orders for manufactured goods rose by $11.8 billion to $557.3 billion in the month.

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in March, up fourteen consecutive months, rose $3.8 billion, or 0.8%, to $483.4 billion, up from the previously published 0.7 percent increase.

"Shipments of manufactured durable goods in March, rose ten of the last eleven months, increased $3.8 billion or 1.4% to $274.8 billion, up from the previously published 1.2 percent increase," the data also showed.

Unfilled orders went up 0.4% after climbing 0.5% in the prior month.

The Commerce Department also reported that orders for non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft, which are considered as a measure of business spending plans on equipment, rebounded 1.3%.