The U.S. Commerce Department released durable goods orders data on Wednesday. The U.S. durable goods orders dropped 1.4% in February, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase, after a 2.0% rise in January. January's figure was revised down from a 2.8% increase.
The decline was driven by a lower demand for products made in the U.S. A decline in transportation orders, defence and civilian aircraft weighed on durable goods orders.
The U.S. durable goods orders excluding transportation declined 0.4% in February, missing expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.7% decrease in January. January's figure was revised down from a 0.3% gain.