March durable goods data (24 April, 08:30 ET) will remain under pressure, as manufacturing is still affected by the rising US dollar and the side-effects of the oilprice slump.
With likely slow aircraft orders, the headline print down 0.5% m/m (consensus: 0.6%), from -1.4% in February.
The ex-transport print down 0.2% from -0.6%. Capital goods data will be monitored to fine-tune expectations for the contribution of business investment to Q1 GDP growth.
Most probably sluggish in Q1, business investment may remain under pressure in Q2 as the impact of the oilprice slump lingers and energy firms continue to cut costs.
Non-oil firms are unlikely to be able to offset the drop in oil-related investment for now.
