Factory Orders On The Rise

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose in March for the first time this year, led by a big jump in demand for electronic equipment.

After two straight months of declines, orders for durable goods - items expected to last at least three years - rose 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $215.2 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

March's performance was stronger than the 1.5- percent gain many analysts were expecting.

In February, durable-goods orders fell a revised 2 percent, a slightly smaller decline than the government previously estimated. In January, orders decreased by 1.9 percent.

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times since June 30 to slow the speeding economy and to keep inflation under control. Given the outlook for strong continuing growth, many economists believe the Fed will bump up interest rates again on May 16.

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