US Durable Goods Orders Up 0.0% in August, GDP Confirmed at 3%

• US durable goods orders held steady in August, beating expectations.
• The US confirmed that the economy grew at an annual rate of 3% in Q2.
• The US dollar index gains upward momentum on the news, approaching 101.00.

“New orders for durable manufactured goods in August, up six of the past seven months, rose $0.1 billion, or basically unchanged, to $289.7 billion,” the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

“This followed a 9.9% increase in July. Excluding shipping, new orders rose 0.5%. Excluding defense, new orders fell 0.2%. Electrical equipment, appliances and components, up two of the past three months, led the increase, up $0.3 billion, or 1.9 percent, to $14.4 billion.”

At the same time, Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 3.0% in the second quarter of 2024, as previously estimated, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

Market reaction

The US dollar index jumped on the positive news and is hovering around 100.80 ahead of the US open.