US manufacturers saw rising sales of major durable goods for the second straight month in September, boosted by orders for aircraft and telecoms equipment, government data showed Wednesday. Auto sales slowed sharply for the month, however. The result was nearly twice what analysts were expecting and could support GDP growth in a third quarter that was battered by back-to-back hurricanes.
Total orders for big-ticket manufactured items rose by 2.2 percent compared to August, reaching $238.7 billion, nearly a full percentage point above a consensus forecast, according to the Commerce Department.So far this year, orders are up 5.2 percent over the same period in 2016.
"This is a very solid report on the manufacturing sector that shows a continued pickup in current and prospective investment spending on business equipment," RDQ Economics said in a research note.
