US factory orders up in February

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Orders for US manufactured goods such as cars and electrical appliances rose in February after six straight months of falls, official figures show.

Orders increased by $5.5bn (£3.8bn; 4.1bn euros), or 3.4%, to $165.6bn.

Consecutive months of rising orders might indicate that consumers were increasing their spending, which would help to pull the US out of recession.

But despite the rebound from a 7.3% fall in January, analysts expect orders to fall again in the coming months.

Other figures, also from the Commerce Department, showed new US home sales rose unexpectedly in February, but still remained far below levels seen in 2008.

Sales climbed 4.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 337,000 units from January's upwardly revised 322,000 - which had been the worst on record.

On a yearly basis, February sales were 40% less than the same period a year earlier.

Earlier this month, figures showed that the rate of construction of new homes in the US soared by almost a quarter in February compared with the previous month.

Minimal impact

Despite the unexpected rise in the manufacturing orders, David Ader at RBS Greenwich Capital said "It's not having much of an impact [on the market] and we don't see an effort to interpret it as a sign the economy has bottomed out."

The rise was underpinned by a jump in orders for military aircraft and parts, while demand for machinery and computers also rose.

Manufacturers have been hit hard by the big drop in consumer spending that has contributed to the length and depth of the US recession.