By Max Sato
(MaceNews) – Japanese machinery orders, the key leading indicator of business investment in equipment, rebounded slightly in March amid the uncertain global economic outlook, data released Thursday by the Cabinet Office showed.
Orders from manufacturers continued to fall while those from non-manufacturers rose.
The key points from machinery orders data:
* Core machinery orders, which exclude volatile orders for power generation equipment and ships, rose a seasonally adjusted 3.7% on month in March, coming in much weaker than the median economist forecast for a 6.4% rise. It was the first rise in three months after falling 8.5% in February.
* In the January-March quarter, the core reading slipped 5.3% from the last quarter of 2020, when it jumped 12.9%. It is projected by the Cabinet Office to rise 2.5% q/q in April-June.
* Core orders dipped 2.0% from a year earlier in March, the second straight y/y decline after slipping 7.1% in February.
* The Cabinet Office maintained its assessment after downgrading it last month, saying, “Machinery orders are marking time in the pickup phase.”