Factory Orders Climb 0.6 Percent

Led by demand for computers and electronic equipment, orders to U.S. factories for interest-sensitive durable goods rebounded in March from their first decline in four months.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for big-ticket items expected to last at least three years climbed 0.6 percent last month. They fell 0.7 percent in February.

The department said the increase in orders was led by a 6.1 percent jump in electronic and other electrical equipment.

Industrial machinery and equipment rose 2.7 percent, after climbing 1.4 percent the previous month and soaring 9.1 percent in January.

Orders for all durable goods totaled a seasonally adjusted $164.3 billion, up $1 billion from February.

New orders for the first three months this year were 3.4 percent above the fourth quarter of last year.