Investing.com - U.S. durable goods orders fell in line with expectations in September, while core orders dropped modestly, 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 1.2% last month, matching forecasts. Orders for durable goods in August were revised to a drop of 3.0% from a previously reported decline of 2.3%.
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, fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in September, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%. Core durable goods orders slumped 0.9% in August.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, declined by 0.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.1% and following a drop of 1.6% in August.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, increased 0.5% in September, above forecasts for a rise of 0.4%, after falling 0.8% in the preceding month.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1075 from around 1.1073 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5352 from 1.5349 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 120.19 from 120.27 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.69, compared to 96.70 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 0.25%, the S&P 500 futures shed 0.25%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.15%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,168.00 a troy ounce, compared to $1,167.30 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $43.40 a barrel from $43.34 earlier.