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| - US durable goods orders gained more than expected in May, the Commerce Department said Thursday, supported by renewed demand in the transportation sector as auto and aircraft factories began working again. The 15.8 percent jump to $194.4 billion in goods reversed April's precipitous plunge of 18.1 percent, which was revised even further downward in the May report. An 80.7 percent jump in transportation equipment orders to $46.9 billion led the index's overall increase, ending two months of declines in the sector as planemaker Boeing and the Detroit automakers resumed production after shutting down due to the coronavirus. Excluding transportation, orders jumped four percent from April, almost double analysts' expectations, but with virus cases rising again in parts of the United States, Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics warned the progress could be reversed. "Manufacturing started to recover in May, but it has a long way to go," he said in an analysis. "The recovery across much of the South and West now seems likely to be weaker than we were hoping for just a few weeks ago, thanks to the surge in COVID cases." Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics warned of weak year-on-year trends in the data, with all orders down 17.9 percent compared to last year and down 6.3 percent excluding transportation. With border closures and work shutdowns snarling economic activity globally, "The manufacturing sector remains exposed to weak foreign demand," Farooqi said. cs/jm
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