The U.S. Census Bureau reported the advance estimate for durable goods orders unexpectedly gained in October, easily beating the consensus forecast. New orders for manufactured durable goods rose by $1.5 billion or 0.6 percent to $248.7 billion.
While forecasts ranged from a low of -1.8% to a high of 0.7%, the consensus forecast was -0.7%.
New orders for durable goods have been up four of the last five months, though the gain in October follows a 1.4% decline in September.
Excluding transportation, new orders for durable goods rose 0.6%. Forecasts for this measure ranged from a low of -0.2% to a high of 0.3%. The consensus forecast was just 0.1%.
Excluding defense, new orders gained 0.1%. Fabricated metal products, which have been up two of the last three months, fueled the increase gaining $0.6 billion or 1.8% to $34.1 billion.
Core capital goods gained 1.2%, easily beating the consensus. Forecasts for the core ranged from a low of -0.5% to a high of 0.3%. The consensus was 0.1%.
