Demand for durable goods

Excluding mac lipgloss transportation and military, durable goods orders were down in May. But a budding recovery in the housing market should provide a buffer for the economy. The National Association of Realtors said signed contracts for home purchases increased 5.9 percent in May, the most since October. Demand for durable goods — items from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last at least three years — tends to be volatile. But a rolling three-month average showed a softening trend, and orders in May remained below their December level. Last month, however, represented a relative bright spot. Nonmilitary capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched gauge for business spending plans, increased 1.6 percent in May after mac lipstick dropping 1.4 percent in April. The gain snapped two straight months of declines. Shipments of nonmilitary capital goods orders excluding aircraft, used to calculate equipment and software spending for the government’s measure of gross domestic product, rose 0.4 percent in May after declining 1.5 percent in April. Regional surveys of factory activity have suggested a weakening in orders this month, a trend that is likely to be highlighted in a report on national mac makeup case manufacturing next week.