U.S. factory orders rose 0.7 percent in April

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders received by U.S. factories rebounded in April, government data showed on Wednesday, but the previous month's figure was sharply revised downwards to show a steeper drop.

The Commerce Department said factory orders rose 0.7 percent in April after a revised 1.9 percent drop in March, previously reported as a 0.9 percent fall. It was the second increase in the last three months.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected factory orders to rise 0.9 percent in April from the prior month.

Excluding transportation items, factory orders inched up 0.1 percent in April from March's 2.1 percent plunge. This was the second increase in the last nine months, the department said.

Orders for costly durable goods - items like cars and refrigerators intended to last three years or more - were slightly revised downwards to show an increase of 1.7 percent in April instead of the 1.9 percent rise previously reported. That followed a 2.2 percent decline in March.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, considered a measure of business confidence, fell 2.4 percent in April.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)