Japan: Core machinery orders record largest drop in six months in May
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—declined 3.2% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in May, which was a deterioration from April’s 2.9% decrease. May’s figure marked the worst reading since November 2023.
On an annual basis, machinery orders grew 10.8% in May, which was notably better than April’s 0.7% expansion and marked the best result since July 2022. Accordingly, the trend improved significantly, with the annual average variation of machinery orders coming in at minus 2.7% in May, up from April’s minus 4.1%.