Breaking: US Durable Goods Orders Rise 0.2% in October, Miss Expectations

According to the US Census Bureau, Durable Goods Orders increased by a meager 0.2% last month to $286.6 billion.

This compares with a revised 0.4% decline in the prior month and is shy of the market consensus for a 0.5% gain. Excluding transportation, the orders rose by a slim margin of 0.1%, while non-defense orders expanded 0.4 percent.

These gains were spearheaded by the Transportation equipment sector, which grew by $0.4 billion, or 0.5%, to $97.1 billion after declining each of the past two months. The soft improvement indicates the manufacturing sector has yet to shake off most of its challenges, reducing expectations of a sharp acceleration in business investment.

Following the release, the US Dollar Index extended losses, falling 0.6% to 106.25 as markets reacted to the softer-than-expected data that might weigh on Federal Reserve policy decisions in the months ahead.