Washington (awp/afp) – Durable goods orders jumped unexpectedly in June from May in the United States, an increase led by a near doubling of orders for defense aircraft and military parts, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday.
The total amount of orders amounted to 272.6 billion dollars, up 1.9% compared to May, for which the data was also revised upwards (+0.8% instead of of +0.7% initially announced).
This is the largest increase in June since January. The jump surprised analysts, who had expected new orders to decline 0.4%, according to MarketWatch consensus.
This increase is due to new orders for military aircraft and spare parts, which jumped 80.6%. The increase in these orders had already been 9.8% in May.
Orders for computers also climbed (+5.9%), as did those for cars (+1.5%). Civil aircraft orders, on the other hand, fell 2.1%, after rising in the previous two months.
The June hike “does not change the bigger picture which sees a slowdown in spending, but it has not reached recessionary proportions,” commented economist Ian Shepherdson, of Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a rating.
Goods considered durable are those that have been used for three years or more, such as cars, appliances or electronics.
The amounts are not adjusted for inflation, which rose to 9.1% over one year in June, which means that households and businesses can buy fewer goods for the same amount.
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