Japan: Core machinery orders deteriorate in July
Core machinery orders—which cover the private sector, exclude volatile orders and are a leading indicator for capital spending over the coming three-to-six-month period—declined 1.1% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in July (June: +2.7% mom).
On an annual basis, machinery orders nosedived 13.0% in July (June: -5.8% yoy), the worst result since August 2020. Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of machinery orders coming in at a two-year low of minus 2.2% in July, down from June’s minus 0.2% reading.
In July, the statistical office had forecast that core machinery orders would fall 2.6% quarter on quarter in seasonally adjusted terms in Q3.