US factory orders for manufactured goods rose 1.2 per cent in April from the previous month, the Commerce Department said.
This is the biggest increase in factory orders since October, and marks the fifth straight monthly rise.
The rise in April factory orders was in line with expectations.
Factory orders rose a revised 1.0 per cent in March, stronger than the initial estimate that orders rose 0.4 per cent.
Year-on-year, factory orders were unchanged in April.
Orders for durable goods rose a revised 1.5 per cent in April, stronger than the advance estimate last week of a 1.1 per cent rise.
Manufacturing inventories fell 0.2 per cent in the month, after a 0.6 per cent fall in March. Manufacturing inventories have now fallen for the last fifteen straight months.