Durable Goods Orders Rise 1.9% in April

.S. orders for durable goods rose 1.9% in April, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Orders of goods made to last at least three years increased to $200.3 billion, Commerce said.

The increase, which followed a 1.6% drop in March, was greater than the 1.3% analysts had forecast, Bloomberg reported.

Excluding transportation orders, April bookings fell 0.2% following a 0.2% increase in March that was previously reported as a 0.5% decline.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 1.6%, Commerce said, the biggest gain since January.

Machinery orders rose 2.2% in April following a revised 4.9% drop in March. Orders for computers rose 16% following a 5.3% drop the previous month.