U.S. durable goods orders fall more than forecast in September

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the durable goods orders fell 1.1 percent m-o-m in September, following a revised 0.3 percent m-o-m advance in August (originally a 0.2 percent m-o-m gain). That was the largest monthly drop since May.

Economists had forecast a 0.8 percent m-o-m decrease.

According to the report, orders for durable goods excluding transportation decreased 0.3 percent m-o-m, following a revised 0.3 percent m-o-m growth in August (originally a 0.5 percent m-o-m climb) and exceeding market expectations of 0.2 percent m-o-m drop.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.5 percent m-o-m in August, after a 0.6 percent decline m-o-m in August (revised from a previously reported -0.4 percent m-o-m). Economists had called for a 0.2 percent drop in core capital goods orders in September.

Shipments of these core capital goods decreased 0.7 percent m-o-m in September after a flat m-o-m performance in the prior month (revised from a previously reported +0.3 percent m-o-m).