U.S. Manufacturing Orders Decline in June

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S.-manufactured goods fell more than expected in June, but business spending on equipment remained solid, according to government data released on Friday.

Factory orders dropped 3.3% after decreasing 0.5% in May, as reported by the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau. Economists surveyed by Reuters had anticipated a 2.9% decline.

Additionally, the government noted that orders for non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft (seen as an indicator of business spending plans on equipment), increased 0.9% in June. This figure was slightly revised down from the 1.0% reported last month.

Non-defense capital goods orders witnessed a plunge of 22.5%, as opposed to the initial estimate of 22.4%.