U.S. factory orders rose in October

Booming orders for new military aircraft boosted overall orders to U.S. factories by 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted $371.51 billion in October, the government reported on Thursday, though demand was flat when defense was excluded.

The October increase exceeded Wall Street economists' forecasts for a smaller 0.3 percent gain. It followed a flat performance for orders in September, though that was an upward revision from a previously reported 0.4 percent orders drop.

The ongoing war in Iraq appeared to be a significant factor in October, as defense capital goods orders jumped 18.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted $12.67 billion on top of an even larger 27.5 percent surge in September.

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Excluding defense goods, factory orders were flat in October after declining 0.6 percent in September.

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Military aircraft orders shot ahead 35.3 percent to $3.26 billion in October after falling 13.4 percent in September.

Shipments of finished goods, a gauge of how busy factories are at the moment, gained 1.2 percent in October to $375.93 billion, a bounce back from September when they dropped 1.1 percent.