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Orders to U.S. factories unexpectedly rose in October, the sixth gain in the past seven months. New orders rose 0.6 percent in October, to $360.5 billion, the Commerce Department said, better than the flat reading that economists had expected. A jump in demand for commercial aircraft and petroleum products led the gain.
Orders for durable goods, items expected to last three years, fell 0.6 percent. Orders for nondurable goods rose 1.6 percent, propelled by gains in demand for petroleum, chemicals, plastics and food.
The report showed that demand for transportation products rose 1.6 percent, led by a 50.1 percent surge in orders for commercial aircraft, a volatile category. Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 0.5 percent.
