US core capital goods orders rise, shipments post largest gain in 4-1/2 years amid AI investment boom

The broad increase in the so-called core capital goods orders and shipments last month was powered by robust demand for computers and electronic products as well as electrical equipment, appliances and components.-manufactured capital goods increased strongly in June while shipments surged by the most in 4-1/2 years as businesses ramped up spending on artificial intelligence, suggesting the economy maintained a fairly strong pace ​of growth in the second quarter.

Shipments of core capital goods, which go into the calculation of the business spending on equipment component in the gross domestic product report, surged 1.