US durable goods orders fell sharply by -6.3% mom in April to USD 296.3B, driven primarily by a steep -17.1% mom drop in transportation equipment. The headline decline, while severe, was less than the expected -8.0%.
Orders excluding defense also posted a significant decline of -7.5% mom to USD 279.3B.
However, the underlying picture was somewhat more stable. Orders excluding the often-volatile transportation component rose by 0.2% mom to USD 197.5B, beating expectations of a flat reading.
This suggests that while large-ticket and defense-related items dragged the headline figure lower, private sector investment in capital goods is holding up better than feared.
