Chart: Real Business Core Capital Spending: Real or CPI-Adjusted New Orders of Durable Goods ex. defense and aircraft (RBCCS) and YOY Change
Headline: Plunge in durable goods orders clouds U.S. outlook
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Demand for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods tumbled by the most in three years in March and businesses cut back on spending plans, suggesting the economy slowed as the first quarter drew to a close. Durable goods orders dropped 4.2 percent, the largest decline since January 2009 when the economy was nose-diving, Commerce Department data showed on Wednesday. Economists had expected a drop of just 1.7 percent. February orders were revised to show only a 1.9 percent increase instead of the previously reported 2.4 percent rise. "This adds to the evidence that momentum in the economy sort of fell flat in March," said Ellen Zentner, a senior U.S. economist at Nomura Securities in New York. Data on durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last three years or more, is notoriously volatile, and investors on Wall Street shrugged off the report. The data was the latest to show the factory sector losing a step in March and reinforced the Federal Reserve's view of moderate growth over the coming quarters. Fed policymakers, in a statement at the end of their two-day meeting on Wednesday, reiterated they see modest growth, but also said they expect economic growth "to pick up gradually."Source: finance.yahoo.com
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