WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased strongly in June while shipments surged, pointing to a fairly solid pace of economic growth in the second quarter.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 0.9% last month after an upwardly revised 1.9% increase in May, the

the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders advancing 0.8% after a previously reported 1.4% jump in May. Shipments of core capital goods, which go into the calculation of the business spending on equipment component in the gross domestic product report, surged 1.9% last month after gaining 0.2% in May.

The government is scheduled to publish its advance estimate of second-quarter GDP growth on Thursday. A Reuters survey of economists estimated the economy grew at a 2.1% annualized rate last quarter, which would match the January-March quarter's pace. Businesses are ramping up investment in artificial intelligence, fueling demand for information processing equipment and other related products, and supporting manufacturing and the overall economy.