Washington, Jul 4 (IANS): New orders for US manufactured goods increased in May after two consecutive months of declines, the US Department of Commerce reported.
In May, US factory orders rose 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted $469 billion, following a revised 0.7-percent decrease in April, reported Xinhua.
New orders for durable goods, or big-ticket items expected to last at least three years such as computers, cars and machinery, rose 1.3 percent to around $217.4 billion in May.
New orders for non-durable goods, including food, paper products, petroleum and coal products, increased 0.2 percent to $251.7 billion for the month.
The recovery of the manufacturing sector has served as a main engine for US economic growth during the past years, but latest data show that manufacturing activity has lost some steam in recent months.