New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods rose slightly more than expected in July and shipments surged, pointing to an acceleration in business spending early in the third quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Friday non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, increased 0.4 percent last month after being unchanged in June.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders rising 0.3 percent last month. They were up 3.3 percent from a year ago.
Shipments of core capital goods jumped 1.0 percent after an upwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in June. Core capital goods shipments are used to calculate equipment spending in the government’s gross domestic product measurement. They were previously reported to have gained 0.1 percent in June.
Businesses are boosting spending despite uncertainty over the prospect of tax cuts. President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress have said they want to lower both corporate and individual taxes as part of a comprehensive tax restructuring, but few details have emerged.
With lawmakers soon to be preoccupied with legislation to raise the country’s debt ceiling and keep the government funded beyond September, it is unclear how quickly the tax changes will be put on the legislative agenda.
via CNBC
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Alfonso Esparza
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