2018.11.2108:44:00UTC+00U.S. Durable Goods Orders Plunge More Than Expected In October

A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed a much steeper than expected drop in new orders for U.S. durable goods in the month of October, with the sharp decline largely reflecting a substantial decrease in orders for transportation equipment.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders plunged by 4.4 percent in October following a revised 0.1 percent dip in September.

Economists had expected orders to slump by 2.5 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding the steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders inched up by 0.1 percent in October after a revised 0.6 percent decrease in September.

Ex-transportation orders had been expected to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.