US: Durable goods orders declined by 1.6% in February vs -1.8% expected

The data published by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that durable goods orders in February contracted by 1.6% and came in better than the market expectation for a decline of 1.8%. The market reaction to this reading was relatively muted and the US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.04% on the day at 97.39.