U.S. durable goods orders weakens slightly in September

U.S. durable goods orders softened slightly in September compared to recent months. In all, the overall orders of durable goods rose 0.8 percent sequentially, given the upwardly revised 4.6 percent rise that had been buoyed by a rise in the volatile transportation category.

Stripping transportation, orders rose 0.1 percent after an upwardly revised 0.3 percent sequential rise in August. The rise in overall orders came in slightly above consensus expectation of a 1.5 percent decline. The September data for new orders excluding transportation were slightly below expectations. Smoothing through the monthly volatility, recent data continue to indicate towards a slowdown in the underlying trend for the ex-transportation category in recent months, with orders rising 2 percent compared to 10 percent.

In the meantime, new orders of capital goods excluding aircraft dropped in September. The data for September came in slightly below expectations. Nevertheless, the falls in August and September follow a solid rise seen in July, placing core capital goods orders up 8.5 percent. Shipments of core capital goods came in flat for the second straight month.

At 19:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at 29.8028. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex