By Bryan Mena

Orders for long-lasting goods rose 0.7% in May, driven by an increase in big-ticket items including cars, computers and military aircraft.

New orders for products meant to last at least three years increased to a seasonally adjusted $267.2 billion in May, the Commerce Department said Monday, marking the seventh increase in the last eight months.

New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, so-called core capital goods and closely watched proxy for business investment, rose 0.5% to $73.5 billion in May compared with the previous month.

Nondefense aircraft and parts orders were down 1.1% in May, following a rebound in April from the prior month, while defense-related aircraft orders rose 8.1%.

Excluding defense, orders of durable goods rose 0.6%.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.2% increase for overall durable goods orders.

Figures on manufacturing output in May offer a mixed picture for demand. The Federal Reserve earlier this month said manufacturing output fell in May for the first time this year, pulling overall industrial output down to a slower pace of growth.

Major retailers such as Best Buy Co. reported weakening sales this month, which could signal a pullback in consumer demand.

Write to Bryan Mena at bryan.mena@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2022 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)

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