Japan core machinery orders down 0.6% in May
Private-sector orders excluding those for ships and equipment used by power companies, which are closely watched as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, amounted to ¥913.5 billion.
The government kept its basic assessment unchanged, saying that machinery orders are showing signs of picking up.
Orders from the automobile and auto parts industries, subject to U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariffs, decreased 7.1% after a 20.3% drop the previous month.
The Cabinet Office said that the impact of U.S. tariffs has not been clearly confirmed but that future developments should be closely monitored.
Among private-sector orders, those from manufacturers declined 1.8% to ¥448.5 billion, as orders from shipbuilders and chemical makers plunged after jumping on large-scale orders for engines and chemical machinery the previous month.
A decline in business-oriented machinery orders, which showed significant growth a month earlier, was also attributed to the decrease in manufacturers' orders.
Conversely, core orders from nonmanufacturers increased 1.8% to ¥479.3 billion, driven by higher demand for computers from the financial and insurance sectors.
Overall machinery orders, including those from the public sector and overseas, climbed 3.8% to ¥3.09 trillion.
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