US factory orders down in April, demand broadly soft

Washington

NEW orders for US factory goods unexpectedly fell in April as demand for transportation equipment and a range of other goods weakened, suggesting that manufacturing remained constrained by a strong dollar and spending cuts in the energy sector.

New orders for manufactured goods slipped 0.4 per cent after a slightly upwardly revised 2.2 per cent increase in March, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. March's orders were previously reported to have increased 2.1 per cent.

Factory orders have declined in eight of the last nine months. Economists had forecast orders to be flat in April. Excluding the volatile transport component, orders were unchanged for a second st…