Japan’s core private sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 7.5 percent in September from the previous month for the first gain in four months, led by increased orders from the nonmanufacturing sector, the government said Thursday.
The value of orders, widely regarded as a leading indicator of future capital spending, totaled 816.4 billion yen ($6.6 billion). The orders exclude those for ships and from utilities because of their volatility.
Despite the rise in September, orders in the July to September period plunged 10.0 percent from the previous quarter to 2,381.3 billion yen, reflecting companies’ cautious stance toward capital investment amid a slowdown in emerging economies including China.
The pace of the decline was the fastest since the January-March period of 2009, when orders dropped 11.4 percent following the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office estimates core orders will rise 2.9 percent in the three months through December.
