Durable goods orders in Sept post biggest drop in 8 months

Washington

A KEY gauge of capital goods orders by US businesses recorded its biggest drop in eight months in September, while a gauge of home prices showed slower growth. Consumer confidence, however, rose more than estimated.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 1.7 per cent last month. That was the largest decline in the so-called core capital goods since January of this year, and it followed a 0.3 per cent increase in August.