U.S. May Factory Orders Decline Less Than Expected
Claire Weston
U.S. factory orders fell 1.3% in May, well below the 2.0% drop the market expected, while April's gain was revised up — signaling that the manufacturing pullback is milder than feared.
How much did May orders actually fall?
May factory orders dropped 1.3% month-on-month, bringing the total to $657.4 billion.
The consensus forecast was a 2.0% decline — the actual drop was roughly half that.
This means → manufacturing is cooling, but demand is not contracting as sharply as priced in.
Why was April's number revised higher?
April's month-on-month gain was revised up from 4.8% to 5.3%.
In plain terms = last month's orders were even stronger than first reported.
Read the two months together: a solid April upward revision plus a narrower May decline suggest the slowdown is more gradual than the market assumed.
What does this mean for markets?
The data were released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau — hard official figures.
This means → the better-than-expected combination may ease fears of a steep manufacturing downturn.
One month's data can be noisy; the trend needs confirmation in coming releases.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.