Core capital goods orders fall 0.7% in May

Washington

NEW orders for US manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in May as demand declined across the board, suggesting that business spending will remain a drag on economic growth in the second quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Friday that non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.7 per cent last month after a revised 0.4 per cent decline in April.