New orders for US-made capital goods were reported to have risen more than expected in August, suggesting a rebound in business spending on equipment in the third quarter, although some order increases reflected higher prices.
Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, jumped 1.3% last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Orders for these core capital goods rose 0.7% in July. However, this data is not adjusted for inflation.
On the other hand, economists even forecast orders for core capital goods to increase by 0.2%. Shipments of core capital goods rose 0.3% after rising 0.6% in July. Shipments of core capital goods are used to calculate equipment expenditure in the measure of gross domestic product.
This month's data brought indications that output at US factories barely rose in August amid the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening to fight inflation.
U.S. central bank last week raised its key interest rate by 75 basis points, the third consecutive increase of the same size.
Meanwhile, Chicago Federal Reserve president Charles Evans said he was worried about the U.S. central bank's move. raised interest rates too quickly in its efforts to deal with runaway inflation.
His comments came shortly after a number of Fed officials said they would continue to prioritize efforts to fight inflation, which is now nearing its highest level since the early 1980s.
Fed officials also indicated that they would continue to raise rates well above the current range of 3% to 3.25%.
