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TOKYO -- Japanese core machinery orders fell 5.4% in April from the previous month, the government said Wednesday, marking the second straight month of decline and suggesting that demand for equipment will remain sluggish for a while.
The fall was worse than the median forecast for a 0.8% rise of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei.
Core orders exclude often-volatile orders for ships and orders from electronic power companies, and are seen as a reliable gauge of business investment in the future. They've recently shown signs of bottoming out amid mild improvements in exports and domestic output.
In March orders fell by a less-than-expected 1.3%, after posting a 0.6% gain in February, which ended their four-month run of decline.
Unadjusted, core orders fell 32.8% from a year earlier in April, the data showed.
By TAKASHI NAKAMICHI
Source:The Wall Street Journal | Economy
Write to Takashi Nakamichi at takashi.nakamichi@dowjones.com |
