Orders, House Data Shows Economy on Track By Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth stayed on track in September, with stronger durable goods orders and positive news from the housing sector on Wednesday bolstering views the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again. This impression was reinforced by a separate assessment from the U.S. central bank's "beige book" -- an anecdotal look at economic conditions across the country -- that the economy kept growing last month and into early October. U.S. Treasury bond prices retreated modestly on the data and losses were extended in afternoon New York trade after the oil market fell sharply. Durable goods orders edged up 0.2 percent, but orders excluding the volatile transportation equipment sector rose 1.7 percent, the Commerce Department said. Separately, Commerce data showed that U.S. new home sales surged unexpectedly last month, climbing 3.5 percent as low mortgage rates continued to attract buyers. Wall Street had expected orders for durables -- big-ticket items meant to last at least three years -- to rise 0.5 percent. Orders for August were revised lower, to a drop of 0.6 percent from a 0.3 percent decrease reported earlier. The report also offered encouraging signals for business investment which dovetailed with recent comments from the U.S. central bank suggesting it will continue to raise interest rates at a measured pace. "The headline may be weaker than expected, but if you look at ex-transportation, it's up 1.7 percent. I think the market will take this as a positive number," said David Durrant, chief currency strategist at Bank Julius Baer. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft -- a proxy for business spending -- were up 2.6 percent. Shipments dipped across the board and fell 1.7 percent in the key non-defense capital goods category. The 1.7 percent rise in orders excluding transportation equipment follows a 2.8 percent advance the previous month, while demand for commercial aircraft fell 16.3 percent after shrinking 46.3 percent in August.     Continued ... Quelle "Orders, House Data Shows Economy on Track" : reuters.com Main page for "Orders, House Data Shows Economy on Track"