WASHINGTON – Orders placed with American factories rose in June as international buyers, buoyed by the strongest global expansion since the 1970s, bought more aircraft, Bloomberg News Service reported Thursday.
Bookings gained 0.6 percent after a 0.5 percent drop in May, the Commerce Department said Thursday in Washington, less than economists forecast. Excluding transport, they fell 0.5 percent after increasing 0.7 percent in May.
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Manufacturing is increasingly dependent on exports as consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, slows. An increase in orders for Boeing Co. jets is also compensating for a waning appetite among domestic customers for computers and communications equipment.
“It’s still a moderately good outlook for manufacturing, but capital spending has flattened,” said Peter Kretzmer, a senior economist at Banc of America Securities LLC in New York. “Businesses are cautious and I don’t see any reason for that to change.”
A separate report from the Labor Department showed the labor market continues to expand. First-time claims for jobless benefits increased by 4,000, less than anticipated, to 307,000 last week.
“These low, steady claims are a positive message,” said Haseeb Ahmed, an economist at JPMorgan Securities Inc. in New York. “The job market has been a very important source of support for the consumer.”
Stocks extended their advance after the reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39 points to 13,401.96 at 11:28 a.m. in New York. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was unchanged at 4.79 percent.
