There was a 1.1 percent increase in new orders for so-called durable goods in May from April, the Census Bureau says. That's more than economists had forecast, Bloomberg News reports. According to Reuters, economists thought Census would say orders went up about 0.4 percent.
The rise followed declines of 0.2 percent in April and 3.7 percent in March. Durable goods are equipment and other products designed to last three or more years.
According to the bureau, in May "transportation equipment, up three of the last four months, had the largest increase, $1.7 billion or 2.7 percent to $63.1 billion."
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