Durable Goods Orders Increase 1.9%

Reuters reports:

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods and a gauge of business spending plans rose in May, easing fears of a sharp slowdown in factory activity.

Durable goods orders increased 1.9 percent after dropping 2.7 percent in April, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

An improvement across the board in May and revisions to April's figures that showed smaller declines than previously reported, pointed to underlying strength in a sector that has powered the economic recovery.

Economists had expected durable goods orders, a leading indicator of manufacturing health, to rise 1.5 percent in May.