Japan April core machinery orders up 3.8% m-o-m

[TOKYO] Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly rose 3.8 per cent in April from the previous month, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday, in a sign that capital expenditure is gaining strength.

The rise in core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, compared with the median estimate of a 2.0 per cent decrease in a Reuters poll of economists.

That followed a 2.9 per cent increase in the previous month.

Compared with a year earlier, core orders rose 3.0 per cent, versus the median estimate for a 1.3 per cent annual decline.

The Cabinet Office raised its assessment of machinery orders, saying they are recovering.

REUTERS