Investing.com - U.S. durable goods orders fell in line with expectations in August, while core orders were unchanged from a month earlier, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, decreased by a seasonally adjusted 2.0% last month, matching forecasts. Orders for durable goods in July were revised to a gain of 1.9% from a previously reported increase of 2.2%.
Durable goods are typically bulky or heavy products designed to last at three years, such as trains, planes and automobiles.
Core durable goods orders, excluding volatile transportation items, were flat in September, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%. Core durable goods orders rose 0.4% in July.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, declined by 0.2% last month, worse than expectations for a 0.1% drop and following a gain of 2.1% in July.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, decreased 0.2%, disappointing forecasts for a 0.5% gain, after rising 0.5% in the preceding month.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1243 from around 1.1242 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5210 from 1.5215 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.56 from 119.53 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.01, compared to 96.03 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 0.9%, the S&P 500 futures shed 0.85%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures lost 1.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,136.50 a troy ounce, compared to $1,137.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $44.25 a barrel from $44.29 earlier.