US orders for costly durable goods posted their largest drop in seven months in June, the US government repoted.
Orders for durable goods, items intended to last for three years or more, fell 3.8 per cent in June, the Commerce Department said.
That was far worse than analyst expectations for a 0.7 per cent rise and compared to a 0.6 per cent climb in May. The June drop was the largest since a 5.9 per cent fall in November last year.
Orders were down in almost all sectors. Machinery tumbled 6.7 per cent, the biggest fall since an 8.1 per cent decline in February 2000. Non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft were down 5.2 percent.
The report raises questions about the strength of the economic recovery, particularly in manufacturing.
Only the defence industry saw an increased demand in orders. Excluding the positive defence numbers, orders were down 4.8 per cent, the largest drop since September 2001.