* Orders ex-transportation fall 0.8 pct
* Business spending proxy slips 0.6 pct
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Demand for long-lasting U.S.
manufactured goods, excluding aircraft, unexpectedly slipped
last month and a key gauge of business capital spending plans
also fell, underscoring the economic recovery’s tepid pace.
The report on Wednesday reinforced expectations of
additional monetary stimulus at the Federal Reserve’s Nov. 2-3
meeting.
However, overall orders rose by a more than expected 3.3
percent, the largest increase since January, lifted by a surge
in aircraft bookings. Overall orders dropped 1 percent in
August and economists had expected them to increase 2 percent
in September.
Orders excluding transportation fell 0.8 percent after
increasing 1.9 percent in August as bookings for communications
equipment dropped steeply, the Commerce Department said. Orders
for primary metals and computers and electronic products also
fell. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent gain in
non-transportation orders.
“Consumers are not spending much. This will give reasons
for those calling for a forceful quantitative easing next
week,” said Robbert Van Batenburg, head of global research,
Louis Capital Markets in New York.
U.S. stock index futures extended their losses after the
data, while U.S. Treasury debt prices held steady at lower
levels. The U.S. dollar pared gains versus the euro <EUR=>.
But non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a
closely watched proxy for business spending, slipped 0.6
percent in September after a 4.8 percent increase in August,
the department said. Markets had expected a 0.8 percent gain.