Orders for US durable goods expected to be up in June, reflecting big rise in airplanes

The Commerce Department releases its June report on durable goods at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Monday.

ORDERS UP: The expectation is that orders rose 3 percent, according to a survey of economists by data firm FactSet.

MAY DECLINE: Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell 2.2 percent in May, pulled down by a sharp drop in demand for commercial aircraft, a highly volatile category.

Analysts will be closely watching the performance of orders in a category that serves as a proxy for business investment. This category has been weak for much of this year, reflecting a big drop in investment spending by energy companies who have cut back sharply due to the big declines in energy prices over the past year.

The overall economy stalled out in the January-March quarter with activity, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrinking at an annual rate of 0.2 percent. Analysts blamed that weakness on a number of temporary factors including a harsh winter. They expect to see growth rebound to around 2.5 percent in the April-June quarter. The government will release its first estimate of GDP growth in the spring on Thursday.