US factory orders contract in February

ANKARA

US factory orders contracted in February after nine consecutive monthly increases, the Commerce Department said on Monday.

New orders for manufactured goods fell by $2.7 billion, or 0.5%, to $542 billion in February.

The decline was around the market expectation, while January’s figure was slightly revised up to $544.7 billion.

The upward trend seen in new orders for durable goods over the past four months ended in February.

New orders for durable goods decreased by $5.8 billion, or 2.1%, to $271.7 billion, the latest data showed.​​​​​​​