Investing.com - U.S. durable goods orders fell unexpectedly in September, while core orders also declined, dampening optimism over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, decreased by a seasonally adjusted 1.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.5%.
Orders for durable goods in August were revised to a decline of 18.3% from a previously reported drop of 18.4%.
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, eased down by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September, compared to forecasts for a 0.5% gain. Core durable goods orders rose by 0.7% in August.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, fell by 1.7% last month, worse than expectations for a 0.6% increase and after rising 0.3% in August.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, declined 0.2% in September, disappointing forecasts for a 0.7% gain, after rising 0.1% in the preceding month.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2735 from around 1.2709 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.6153 from 1.6130 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a mildly higher open. The Dow futures indicated a gain of 0.35% at the open, the S&P 500 futures pointed to a rise of 0.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.45%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,233.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,228.10 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $81.46 a barrel from $81.52 earlier.