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actory orders rose 2.5% in November, led by an increase in aircraft orders, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The gain followed a 1.7% surge in October and slightly exceeded economists’ forecasts of a 2.4% gain, Bloomberg reported.

Commercial aircraft orders more than doubled, following a 52% gain in October. Excluding transportation orders, factory orders were unchanged from the previous month.

Booking for durable goods, which account for just over half of total orders, rose 4.4% after rising 3.1% in October.

Factory inventories rose 0.2% in November following a 0.6% rise, and inventory-to-shipments ratio, a measure of how long goods remain unsold, was unchanged at 1.18 months.

Automobiles and auto parts orders fell 5.7% after falling 2.5% a month earlier.