U.S. factory orders fall in March

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders received by U.S. factories declined in March, the seventh decrease in the last eight months, government data showed on Friday, signaling that the economic recession may be far from abating.

The Commerce Department said factory orders fell 0.9 percent in March after a revised rise of 0.7 percent in February. Initially, February's gain was reported as much higher, at 1.8 percent, which ignited hopes that the manufacturing sector and the economy might be on the mend.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a much smaller decrease in factory orders of 0.6 percent.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, considered a measure of business confidence, were up a slim 0.4 percent in March, after jumping 4.1 percent the month before.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert, Editing by Walker Simon)