In Washington, the United States saw a 1.4 percent increase in orders for durable goods in February, which exceeded expectations and indicated an improvement in business investment in equipment. Despite challenges faced by the manufacturing sector due to rising interest rates impacting demand for goods, there is optimism for growth with anticipations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year. The sector, accounting for 10.3 percent of the economy, plays a significant role in integrating the Mexican economy with the US economy, highlighting its importance for both countries.
The latest report from the Census Bureau showed that orders for transportation equipment and machinery drove the increase in durable goods last month. However, data for January was revised downward to show a 6.9 percent drop instead of the previously reported 6.2 percent drop. Economists had anticipated a 1.1 percent rise in durable goods orders, but they were pleasantly surprised by better-than-expected performance.
In addition to this, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft also increased by 0.7 percent after seeing a decline of 0.4 percent in the previous month, indicating corporate spending plans are on track.
Meanwhile, US consumer confidence remained stable in March as concerns about a recession were overshadowed by worries about political environment leading up to presidential election in November. The Conference Board reported that consumer confidence index stayed nearly unchanged at 104.7 this month compared to a revised figure of 104.8 in February.
Overall sentiment among consumers remained relatively steady during this period despite some uncertainties about economic conditions caused by rising interest rates and global trade tensions between China and the US.
