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The Commerce Department said on Friday
non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely
watched proxy for business spending plans, declined 0.5 percent
last month after a revised 2.2 percent drop in February, which
was the biggest drop since July 2013.
The so-called core capital goods orders were previously reported
to have declined 1.1 percent in February.
Business spending on capital goods has been undermined by the
buoyant dollar, which has eroded overseas profits of
multinational companies. At the same time, lower energy prices
have cut into domestic oil production, reducing demand for
equipment by oil-field companies, including Schlumberger <SLB.N>
and Halliburton <HAL.N>.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast core capital goods
orders gaining 0.3 percent.
Shipments of core capital goods, which are used to calculate
equipment spending in the government's gross domestic product
measurement, fell 0.4 percent last month after a downwardly
revised 0.1 percent gain in February.
Shipments in February were previously reported to have risen 0.3
percent. That downward revision together with March's weak
reading could see economists trim their first-quarter GDP growth
estimates, which currently range between a 0.5 percent and 2
percent annual pace.
A surge in transportation equipment buoyed overall orders for
durable goods - items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are
meant to last three years or more - which rebounded 4.0 percent
last month.
That was the largest increase since July last year and followed
a 1.4 percent decline in February.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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