Washington, Ramadan 28, 1435, July 25, 2014, SPA -- Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufacturing goods rose more than expected in June, the government said Friday, pointing to momentum in the economy at the end of the second quarter. The Commerce Department said that durable goods orders increased 0.7 percent as demand increased from transportation to machinery and computers and electronic products. Orders for durable goods, which range from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last three years or more, were revised to show a slighter bigger 1.0 percent fall in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders rising 0.5 percent in June after a previously reported 0.9 percent fall the prior month. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft rebounded 1.4 percent after a downwardly revised 1.2 percent decline in May. Economists had expected orders for those so-called capital goods to increase 0.5 percent. Core capital goods shipments fell 1.0 percent in June. Shipments of core capital goods are used to calculate equipment spending in the government’s gross domestic product (GDP) measurement. Core capital goods fell 0.1 percent in May and were down in the second quarter, which suggests another quarterly decline in business spending. Orders for transportation equipment rose 0.6 percent as an increase in bookings for civilian aircraft offset a 2.1 percent drop in orders for automobiles, which was the largest since December. --SPA 22:12 LOCAL TIME 19:12 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w