Japan Feb core machinery orders fall 9.2% month-on-month

[TOKYO] Japan's core machinery orders fell 9.2 per cent in February from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday, in a sign that business investment remains subdued.

That compared with a median estimate for a 12.4 per cent decline. In January core orders rose 15.0 per cent, inflated by large orders from the steel industry.

Compared with a year earlier, core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, fell 0.7 per cent in February, less than a median estimate for a 2.7 per cent drop.

REUTERS