US Durable Goods Orders Rise 0.7% In April

US durable goods orders rose 0.7% in April, up for three consecutive months, according to a report released Friday by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

New orders for manufactured durable goods rose $1.9 billion to $284.1 billion, it said in a statement.

The estimate was for the figure to show a monthly decrease of 0.9%, following a 0.8% increase in March when it stood at $282.2 billion.

Excluding transportation, new orders climbed 0.4%, the bureau said, adding that new orders were unchanged when excluding defense.

"Transportation equipment, also up three consecutive months, led the increase with $1.1 billion, or 1.2% to $96.2 billion," it said. -