LONDON (ShareCast) - A 0.8% leap in US durable goods orders in June took the market by surprise as new orders for motor vehicles rose the most in 11 months.

Economists, who had predicted a fall of 0.4%, were left scratching their heads as factory orders soared at their fastest pace since February’s 1.1% improvement.

Orders excluding transportation goods were up 2% following a 0.5% drop in May and versus forecasts for a 0.2% dip. That’s the best figure since last December.

Automobile orders were up 1.8%, while metals grew by 5.1% and machinery orders by 2.3%.

But transportation goods saw demand fall 2.6% as orders for commercial aircraft tumbled 25% and by 8.6% for military aircraft.

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