Orders for U.S. durable goods rise 1.1% in May (by Jeffry Bartash)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for long-lasting U.S. goods rose 1.1% in May after falling in the prior two months, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected orders to be unchanged. The biggest increase occurred in the commercial-aircraft segment, with bookings up 4.9%. Omitting the transportation sector, orders rose 0.4%. Orders for core capital goods excluding defense and transportation, a key barometer of U.S. business spending, climbed 1.6% last month to mark the first gain since February. Orders for April were revised down to a 0.2% decline from a prior reading of no change.