Japan: Core machinery orders rebound in June
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 2.1% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in June, which was an improvement from May’s 3.2% decrease. June’s figure marked the best reading since March.
On an annual basis, machinery orders dropped 1.7% in June, which was notably worse than May’s 10.8% expansion. Nonetheless, the trend improved, with the annual average variation of machinery orders coming in at minus 2.4% in June, up from May’s minus 2.7%.