US durable goods orders jump in August, boosted by aircraft

Orders for goods made to last more than three year soared last month, boosted by orders for civilian and military aircraft.

Total durable goods orders jumped by 4.5% to reach $259.6bn, according to the Department of Commerce, which was far in excess of the 1.7% increase which economists had anticipated.

Nevertheless, the headline figure was distorted by a 69.1% surge in orders for non-defence aircraft and parts to $17.1bn, while those for military aircraft and parts were up by 17.0% month-on-month to $5.2bn.

Core capital goods orders, that is to say, those excluding both defence and aircraft, on the other hand dipped by 0.5% month-on-month to $69.5bn.

Versus a year-ago, total goods orders were higher by 9.3% on the year.

Commenting on the data, Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "Capex still looks strong, propelled by the surge in earnings growth and a long-delayed replacement cycle for capital equipment.

"Next month likely will see much weaker headline durable orders but a rebound in the capex components."