Durable Goods Orders Flat After Two Months of Declines
rders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods were basically flat in May as strength in demand for aircraft and computers was offset by widespread weakness elsewhere.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that durable goods showed no change last month after declines of 1 percent in April and 0.2 percent in March.
Economists had expected a flat reading for May as the manufacturing sector continues to be buffetted by the weak overall economy. The hope is that continued strength in demand for exports will compensate for plunging demand for autos and building supplies, two sectors that have been especially hardhit by the current economic slowdown.
The economy has continued to expand, although at a weak rate, despite sizable headwinds from a prolonged slump in housing and a severe credit crisis.
The Federal Reserve, wrapping up a two-day meeting on Wednesday, is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, capping a series of seven straight rate cuts that it instituted in an effort to keep the country out of a deep recession.
The government on Thursday will issue a revised report on overall economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, for the January-March quarter. The expectation is that it will show the GDP expanding at a 1 percent rate in the first quarter, a slight improvement from the 0.9 percent estimate made a month ago.
06/25/2008 12:48 AM
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea
rders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods were basically flat in May as strength in demand for aircraft and computers was offset by widespread weakness elsewhere.
