New orders for key US-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly rose in June, suggesting business spending on equipment could continue to grow after rebounding in the second quarter.

Orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 0.2 per cent last month, the Commerce Department said on Thursday (Jul 27). Data for May was revised lower to show these so-called core capital goods rising 0.5 per cent instead of 0.7 per cent as previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast core capital goods orders edging down 0.1 per cent.

The data was included in the advance gross domestic product data for the second quarter published on Thursday, which showed business spending on equipment rebounding after contracting for two straight quarters.

The economy grew at a 3.4 per cent annualised rate last quarter, after expanding at a 2.0 per cent pace in the January-March period. REUTERS