US factory orders up 1.5% in March

New orders for manufactured goods in the United States stood at $630.4 billion in March, rising 1.5% month on month, data from the US Census Bureau showed on Monday. Shipments increased by 1.4% or $8.8 million compared to February, landing at $633.9 billion, while unfilled orders increased 0.1% or $1.6 billion to $1.54 trillion. Inventories amounted to $956.3 billion, going up 0.6% or $5.8 billion on a monthly basis. The inventories-to-shipments ratio stood at 1.51, slipping slightly from the previous month.