New orders to U.S. factories for manufactured goods rose 0.7 percent in May following a big decline in the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The slight increase left orders at a seasonally adjusted 399.9 billion U.S. dollars in May, much better than the 0.1 percent increase that economists had been expecting.

Excluding aircraft and other transportation equipment, booking rose 1.2 percent in May. Factory orders were also higher when defense was stripped out, up 0.8 percent in the month.

Orders for durable goods, expensive items meant to last three years or more, decreased 0.4 billion dollars or 0.2 percent to 208. 8 billion dollars, revised from the previously published 0.3 percent decrease. This followed a 4.7 percent plunge in April.

The decline in durable goods orders was due to an 18 percent drop in bookings for Boeing Co., analysts said.

Orders for non-durable goods increased 1.6 percent in May after a 1.1 percent increase in the previous month. Non-durable goods include industrial chemicals, drugs, papers and textiles.

Source: Xinhua