US durable goods orders likely dropped in February

US durable goods orders are expected to have declined 0.7% in February, reversing the increases in past 10 months. The fall in orders are expected to have been mainly due to a drop in jetliner bookings, which likely fell 2.1%, subtracting around USD 1.65 billion off the headline. However, Boeing orders have fallen by 222 in January and February of 2016, and the current estimate is at around a decline of 2.5% in the headline number.

The drag is not expected to be severe as major decline in aircraft orders in the turn of the year appear to not fully get reflected in the Census Bureau measure. Orders, excluding transportation bookings, should continue to be stable with no change from January’s report. There should be little weakness throughout other categories, while computers and electronic products are expected to have increased.