⁍ New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in August.

---

⁍ Shipments raced to their highest level in nearly six years, suggesting a rebound in business spending on equipment was underway.

---

⁍ Economists had forecast orders for these goods gaining 0.5% in August.

---

– The US economy appears to be regaining some of its mojo after a brutal first half of the year. New orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched indicator of business spending, rose 1.8% in August, the Commerce Department said Friday, beating economists’ expectations. July’s orders were revised upward to a 2.1% increase. Economists had expected orders for these goods to rise 0.5%. Shipments of core capital goods, used to calculate equipment spending in the government’s gross domestic product measurement, rose 2.8% in July, their highest level since September 2014. The two months of strong growth are likely to lift overall business investment from a deep hole in the third quarter. But fiscal aid is running out and new coronavirus cases are rising in the country, clouding the fourth-quarter picture. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week stressed the need for more fiscal stimulus, telling lawmakers on Thursday that it could make the difference between continued recovery and a much slower economic slog. Another rescue package appears unlikely before the Nov. 3 presidential election. ‘The recovery in capex is not screeching to halt,’ said Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. ‘Spending will be a key contributor to the third-quarter’s bounce back in GDP.’ Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 1.8% last month to the highest level since July 2018. Data for July was revised up to show these so-called core capital goods orders increasing 2.5% instead of 1.9% as previously reported.