Japan’s core machinery orders fell 8.3 per cent in November from the previous month, government data showed on Wednesday.
The decline was bigger than a 0.9 per cent dip expected by economists in a Reuters poll and marked the first decrease in two months after a 5.4 per cent gain in October.
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 3.7 per cent, versus a forecast 2.4 per cent increase, the Cabinet Office data found.
