Durable goods orders plunge in March

Durable goods orders plunged 5.1% in December, more than expected.

Expectations were for the report to show orders fell 0.7% in December after orders were flat in November. November's number was revised to show a 0.5% decline.

This was the fourth decline in the series in five months.

This is a series tabulated in nominal dollars, and so the decline is expected to largely reflect the impact that the strong dollar has had on import prices. Namely: they've gone down.

Excluding aircraft and defense orders, orders fell 0.2% against expectations for a 0.8% increase.

More to come ...

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