MW: Orders for U.S. durable goods rise 2.5% in March
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. orders for durable goods rose 2.5% in March, marking the third straight increase, led by higher demand for transportation equipment, computers and defense-related products. Orders for February were also revised to show a 0.7% increase instead of an originally reported decline, according to Commerce Department data. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected orders to rise by 3.0%. Factoring out the volatile transportation sector, orders rose a smaller 1.3%. Shipments of core capital equipment goods, which the government uses to help calculate gross domestic product, climbed 2.2% in March after just a 0.4% gain in February and a 2.5% decline in January.
