Japan: Core machinery orders fall in December
Core machinery orders—which cover the private sector, exclude volatile orders and are a leading indicator for capital spending over the coming three- to six-month period—fell in December for the fifth time in six months.
Specifically, core machinery orders dropped 12.5% in December compared to the previous month in seasonally-adjusted terms, falling faster than market analysts’ expectation of a 9.0% decrease and contrasting the 18.0% increase in January.
In year-on-year terms, core machinery orders fell 3.5% in December, contrasting the 5.3% increase in November. The annual average variation in core machinery orders deteriorated to a 0.7% decrease in December from a 0.4% decrease in November.