Orders for US durable goods increased by a smaller than expected 0.3% in February following a revised 1.1% decline in January, the Commerce Department reported this afternoon.
Economists were expecting a gain of 0.8% in big-ticket items in a report seen as gauge of the manufacturing sector and the overall economy. Excluding transportation goods, durable-goods orders sank 0.2%.
Shipments of durable goods dropped 1.6% in February, the largest decline in 18 months.
Separate figures showed that sales of new homes jumped 9.4% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just over 1.2 million. The sales rate is the second highest rate ever, matching December's pace and just below October's record 1.3 million. Economists were expecting a small increase to about 1.15 million.
Home sales and new construction have remained very robust in the US despite increases in mortgage rates.
