US durable goods orders rise 3.4% in April

New orders for durable goods, products designed to last at least three years, increased a seasonally adjusted 3.4% in April from a month earlier in the US, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

This reading surpassess by far expectations of a 0.4% increase in April.A 64.9% gain in aircraft orders drove the April increase. Orders of durable goods excluding transportation, rose a mere 0.4% in the same period, slightly above the 0.3% expected.