Orders for US durable goods fell for the fourth straight month in September, the US government said today in a report.
Durable goods are items such as refrigerators, washing machines and cars that are meant to last for three years or more.
Aircraft orders fell 29 per cent in September following an 8.6 per cent decrease the previous month. Computer and electronics orders dropped 9.1 per cent last month following a 0.7 per cent increase in August.
Orders for motor vehicles and parts fell 15.1 per cent after falling 0.7 per cent in the prior month.
The decline last month far exceeded analysts' estimates. Wall Street analysts had on average estimated that durable goods orders slid 1.3 per cent last month.
"The orders numbers suggest that capital spending is continuing to go down a black hole," said Mr Ian Morris, chief US economist at HSBC Securities in New York.
Bond prices rose and the value of the dollar versus the euro fell after the durables data, and a report showing the number of Americans lining up for first-time unemployment benefits rose last week, were released.
Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan is reportedly keeping a close eye on durable goods orders as a gauge of the economy's health following the attacks in New York and Washington.
The Fed is expected to cut rates again next month to prop up the US economy.