Japan: Core machinery orders improve in September
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—were flat month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in September, after falling 2.4% in August.
On an annual basis, machinery orders rose at a softer pace of 12.5% in September, down from August’s 17.0% growth. Nevertheless, the trend improved significantly, with the annual average growth of machinery orders coming in at a two-year high of 5.5% in September, up from August’s 3.0% reading.
September’s report also included machinery manufacturers’ forecasts for October–December 2021, which projects a 3.1% increase in core machinery orders over the period, thus pointing towards improving optimism regarding capital spending after Q3’s 0.7% rise in machinery orders.