Orders for U.S. durable goods fell unexpectedly in August but beat forecasts once transportation equipment was stripped out, government data showed on Friday in evidence the economy is again pumping strongly. The Commerce Department said orders for big-ticket items meant to last at least three years fell 0.5 percent after gaining 1.8 percent in July. Orders excluding transportation rose a solid 2.3 percent. Financial markets were initially unsettled by the data. However, economists said stronger shipments of capital equipment point to faster third-quarter growth following a soft spot in the previous three months. This supported the dollar, which dipped sharply on the news but ended broadly unchanged against the euro over the session. In a separate release, U.S. existing home sales data showed an unexpectedly steep decline of 2.7 percent to 6.54 million units. But housing sector activity remains near record highs. Wall Street analysts polled by Reuters had forecast orders would stay flat overall and rise 1.0 percent excluding the volatile transportation component that includes aircraft. They were reasonably upbeat after the report. --More 0038 Local Time 2138 GMT
