US durable goods orders rise less than expected in June

New orders for US-manufactured durable goods rose less than expected in June, according to Commerce Department data released Monday.

Orders increased 0.3% month-on-month, or $1.1 billion, to $334.8 billion in June, the US Census Bureau said.

Market estimates had projected a monthly increase of 1.6%.

The rise followed a revised 4% decline in May and marked the third increase in the past four months.

Excluding transportation equipment, new orders climbed 0.6%, while orders excluding defense increased 0.3%.

Computers and electronic products led the monthly increase, with orders rising 3.1%, or $900 million, to $31.1 billion. The category has posted gains in nine of the past 10 months.

Shipments of durable goods rose 0.7%, or $2.4 billion, to $330.7 billion, following a 1.1% increase in May.

Unfilled orders increased 0.6% to $1.59 trillion, while inventories grew 0.3% to $602 billion.

Nondefense capital goods orders rose 1.2% to $97.8 billion, and shipments in the category increased 1.5% to $95 billion.

Defense capital goods orders edged up 0.5% to $22.7 billion, while shipments climbed 4% to $19.5 billion.