The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly crept higher in the month of May.
The report said durable goods orders inched up by 0.1 percent in May after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in April.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to slip by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding an increase orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders edged down by 0.1 percent in May after climbing by 0.4 percent in April. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.2 percent.