US: Durable goods orders expected at -1.8% for April – Wells Fargo

The research team at Wells Fargo Securities expects US durable goods orders to come in at -1.8% for the month of April against the market consensus figure of -1.4%.

Key Quotes

“Growth in durable goods orders disappointed consensus in March, rising 0.9 percent as orders of motor vehicles slipped while aircraft orders surged. Boeing received 15 orders in April compared to 147 in March, increasing the likelihood that total durable goods orders slipped on a month-over-month comparison in April. Orders of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, our bellwether of planned business investment, appeared to be softening since the end of last year on weaker orders of computers and electronics.”

“The new orders index in April’s ISM survey also slipped from recent highs, suggesting either some moderation in core goods orders may in the offing for April, or that “soft” data are starting to come back in line following the post-election surge. We continue to expect hard data from the factory sector to show a gradually improving trend behind month-to-month volatility.”