US factory orders rise for a third month in April

NEW orders for US-manufactured goods increased for a third straight month in April, boosted by demand for transportation equipment.

Factory orders rose 0.7 per cent, matching the revised pace in March, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Tuesday (Jun 4). Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.6 per cent increase from March. Transportation equipment orders rose by 1.1 per cent, while excluding transportation, orders rose 0.7 per cent in April.

Manufacturing, which accounts for 10.4 per cent of the US economy, remains constrained by 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022.

A survey from the Institute for Supply Management on Monday showed its manufacturing PMI fell for a second straight month in May and has been in contraction for 18 of the last 19 months. REUTERS