US factory orders soar 2.3% in June, higher than estimates

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US factory orders jumped 2.3% in June, higher than estimates, according to Commerce Department figures released Thursday.

New orders for manufactured goods increased $13.4 billion to $592 billion, rising for the sixth time in the last seven months.

Expectations for the figure, which measures the change in the value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers, was to show a gain of 2.2%.

The figure for May was revised up from a rise of 0.3% to an increase of 0.4%, while it stood at $578.6 billion that month.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in June increased $13.2 billion, or 4.6%, to $302.1 billion, up for four consecutive months.

The figure in May posted a gain of 2%, revised up from the previous figure of an increase of 1.8%.

Transportation equipment led the increase with a gain of $12.3 billion, or 12%, to reach $115.2 billion.