US durable goods fall in October on weak aircraft sales

WASHINGTON: Declining aircraft sales brought October’s US durable goods orders to their lowest pace in four months, while a manufacturing sector tied to the oil industry also swung low, official data showed Wednesday.

Sales of military items likewise weighed on the monthly result but autos, metals and computers posted slight gains.

The result could point to more modest GDP growth in the final quarter of 2017 but analysts said recent upward trends in key sectors remained unbroken.

Total orders for big- ticket manufactured goods fell 1.2 per cent from September, to US$236 billion, according to the Commerce Department. The result surprised economists, who had instead been expecting a 0.4 per cent increase.

So far in 2017, orders are up 4.9 per cent over the same period last year.

Orders for civilian aircraft fell 18.6 per cent and defence aircraft were down 11.3 per cent. Sales of cars and light trucks, which have struggled to keep pace during much of this year after a record 2016, rose 1.7 per cent for the month.

But excluding the highly volatile transportation sector, which sees big swings from month to month, orders had their fourth straight monthly increase, gaining 0.4 per cent on rising sales of communications equipment, electrical appliances, machinery and primary metals. — AFP