Japan: Core machinery orders growth rises 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—grew 3.6% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in December, which followed November’s 3.4% increase.
On an annual basis, machinery orders rose 5.1% in December, which was notably below November’s 11.6% expansion. As such, annual average machinery orders grew 6.8% in 2021 as a whole, contrastingly markedly the 8.4% fall recorded in 2020.
December’s report also included machinery manufacturers’ forecasts for January–March 2022, which projects a 1.1% decrease in core machinery orders over the period, thus pointing towards renewed pessimism regarding capital spending after Q4’s 6.5% surge in machinery orders.