New orders at US factories rose 2.5 per cent in August as demand for a wide array of both long-lasting and non-durable goods increased, the government said today.
The Commerce Department said the increase in factory orders reflected a 3.4 per cent increase in demand for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, and a 1.6 per cent increase in non-durable goods.
The durable goods figure was revised up from an initial August reading of 3.3 per cent released last week.
The department has said areas affected by Hurricane Katrina account for only 1.85 per cent of total US manufacturing, so any impact of the storm, which hit the Gulf Coast on August 29th, was likely to be small.
But some analysts cautioned against reading into the pre-storm data and have said September figures will be more reflective of the health of the US economy.
Two separate reports showed US chain store sales rose in the last week of September following softness in previous weeks related to Hurricane Katrina.
Redbook Research, an independent company, said sales in the fifth and final week of September rose by 3.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis. The International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS, in a joint report, said sales were 0.6 per cent higher in the week to October 1st after rising just 0.1 per cent in the prior week and falling in the previous two weeks before that.
Compared with the same week a year ago, sales were up 3.0 per cent, after a 2.8 per cent per cent rise in the prior week.