TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s core machinery orders rose 1.6% in December from the previous month, government data showed on Thursday.
The growth was lower than a 3.0% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll and marked the first gain in two months after a 8.3% decrease in November.
On a year-on-year basis, core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, slipped 6.6%, versus a forecast for 6.0% contraction, the Cabinet Office data found.
For the full table, go to the website of the Cabinet Office:
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Chris Reese)
