WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased more than expected in August and data for the prior month was revised sharply higher, pointing to another quarter of robust growth in business spending on equipment amid an artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.
Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, jumped 1.6% last month after an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in July, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders rising 0.5% after a previously reported unchanged reading in July. Shipments of core capital goods, which go into the calculation of the business spending on equipment component in the gross domestic product report, increased 0.6% last month after advancing 1.4% in July.
Business spending on equipment has notched two straight quarters of double-digit growth, largely fueled by aggressive investment in AI, helping to underpin manufacturing and the overall economy. But manufacturing, especially segments not tied to AI, could slow against the backdrop of rising oil prices, interest rates and long-term US Treasury yields, economists warned.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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