Japan: Core machinery orders growth dips in March
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 3.0% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in March, which was a deterioration from February’s 7.7% increase. The print exceeded market expectations.
On an annual basis, machinery orders rebounded, rising 2.7% in March (February: -1.8% yoy), the best result since February 2023. Accordingly, the trend improved notably, with the annual average variation of machinery orders coming in at minus 4.6%, up from February’s minus 5.4%.