US: Durable goods orders flat in August

Orders for durable goods products such as cars were unchanged in August from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. This reading comes above the 1.4% decline expected by analysts but down from a 3.6% rise seen in July.

When excluding the volatile category of transportation products, sales declined by 0.4%, matching forecasts. Excluding defense, orders fell 1.0% against a fall of 1.1% expected.