Washington--US factory orders rebounded in February after six months of declines, led by nondurable goods like refined oil products, the government reported Thursday.
New orders for manufactured goods rose 0.2 percent in February to $468.3 billion, after a 0.7 percent decrease in January, the Commerce Department said.
The gain was not expected; the average estimate was for a 0.5 percent fall.
Stripping out new orders for transportation, new orders climbed 0.8 percent in February.
Orders for durable goods, manufactured products generally expected to last at least three years, like aircraft, machinery and computers, fell 1.4 percent.
Nondurable goods orders rose 1.8 percent, after a 3.2 percent drop in January.
Orders at petroleum refineries rose 11.3 percent in February, rversing an 11.2 percent fall in January.
Year-over-year, factory orders were down 5.7 percent.
AFP
