US factory orders down more than expected in October

​​​​​​​By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US new durable goods orders declined 1.3% in October from the previous month, according to the delayed data released Wednesday by the Census Bureau.

New orders for manufactured durable goods, which measure the change in the value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers, decreased by $8.1 billion to $604.8 billion in October.

The drop followed a 0.2% monthly increase in September. The orders were up in two of the last three months.

Shipments, up for the three consecutive months, rose by $500 million, or 0.1%, to $607 billion.

Unfilled orders, up in 15 of the last 16 months, increased by $2.7 billion in October to $1.49 trillion.

Inventories, up following two consecutive monthly declines, increased by $0.4 billion to $947 billion in October.

Meanwhile, the inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.56 in October, unchanged from September.

Factory orders data are critical for determining the near-term performance of the industrial sector, which plays a significant role in the US economy.