Japan: Core machinery orders expands at quickest pace since October 2020 in May
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—rose 7.8% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in May, which was above April’s 0.6% increase and marked the best result since October 2020.
On an annual basis, machinery orders rose at a quicker rate of 12.2% in May (April: +6.5% yoy), the best result since June 2019. Moreover, the trend improved significantly, with the annual average variation of machinery orders coming in at a one-year high of minus 5.0%, up from April’s minus 6.9%.