Investing.com - U.S. durable goods orders rose much more than expected in January, while core orders also jumped sharply, easing concerns over the health of the economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, rose by a seasonally adjusted 4.9% last month, blowing past forecasts for a rise of 2.5%. Orders for durable goods in December fell 4.6%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 5.0%.
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, increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.8% in January, easily surpassing expectations for a gain of 0.2%. Core durable goods orders slumped 0.7% in December.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, jumped 3.9% last month, far better than forecasts for a gain of 1.0% and following a drop of 3.7% a month earlier.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, dipped 0.4% in January, compared to forecasts for a gain of 0.8%.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1014 from around 1.1029 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3957 from 1.3965 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 112.66 from 112.50 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.54, compared to 97.43 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures rose 22 points, or 0.13%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 3 points, or 0.06%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 2 points, or 0.04%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,234.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,237.20 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $31.70 a barrel from $31.88 earlier.