Factory orders climb 1.3% in February (by Jeffry Bartash)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for goods produced in U.S. factories rose 1.3% in February, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected orders to climb 1.5%. Factory orders were revised down to a 1.1% decline in January from a prior estimate of a 1.0% drop. Orders for durable goods - products meant to last at least three years - jumped 2.4% in February after a revised 3.5% decrease in January. Orders for nondurable goods rose 0.4%, compared with a 1.0% gain in January.