Japan: Core machinery orders rebounds in March
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—expanded 7.2% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in March, which contrasted February’s 9.8% decrease. March’s figure marked the best result since October 2020.
On an annual basis, machinery orders rose at a faster rate of 7.6% in March (February: +4.3% yoy). Accordingly, annual average machinery orders growth rose to 9.3% in March (February: +8.0%). This signals an improving trend in the sector.
The statistical release also provided an official forecast for growth of core machinery orders in Q2. It forecast that core machine orders would fall 8.1% in seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms. Growth of core machine orders in Q2 is likely to be restrained by the Ukraine crisis and Covid-19 turmoil in China.