• Durable Goods Orders in the US fell at a softer pace than expected in June.
• The US Dollar Index edges higher toward 98.00.

Durable Goods Orders in the United States (US) declined by 9.3%, or $32.1 billion, in June to $311.8 billion, the US Census Bureau reported on Friday. This reading followed the 16.5% increase (revised from 16.4%) reported in May and came in better than the market expectation for a decrease of 10.8%.

"Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 9.4%," the press release read. "Transportation equipment, also down two of the last three months, drove the decrease, $32.6 billion, or 22.4%, to $113.0 billion."

Market reaction

The US Dollar (USD) Index preserves its bullish momentum following this report and trades near 97.80, gaining 0.3% on the day.