Investing.com - U.S. durable goods orders rose more than expected in June, while core orders also topped forecasts, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for a U.S. interest rate hike this year, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, increased by a seasonally adjusted 3.4% last month, beating expectations for a gain of 3.0%. Orders for durable goods in May were revised to a drop of 2.1% from a previously reported decline 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, inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in June, topping forecasts for an increase of 0.5%. Core durable goods orders dipped 0.1% in May, whose figure was revised from previously reported flat reading.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, increased by 0.9% last month, above expectations for a 0.4% increase and following a decline of 0.4% in May.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, declined 0.1% in June, disappointing forecasts for a 0.6% gain, after falling 0.3% in the preceding month.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1065 from around 1.1058 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5524 from 1.5521 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 123.18 from 123.20 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.77, compared to 96.80 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 0.65%, the S&P 500 futures declined 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.65%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,090.10 a troy ounce, compared to $1,089.20 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.55 a barrel from $47.50 earlier.