New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly showed a modest increase in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The report said durable goods orders edged up by 0.1 percent in August after tumbling by a revised 8.1 percent in July. The modest increase in orders surprised economists, who had expected orders to drop by 0.5 percent compared to the 7.4 percent decrease that had been reported for the previous month. However, excluding a 0.7 percent increase in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods order dipped by 0.1 percent in August compared to a 0.5 percent drop in July.