Japan Aug machinery orders up 6.7 pct from July, smaller than forecast

Core private-sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 6.7 pct in August from the previous month, following a 16.7 pct fall in July, the Cabinet Office said. The market had expected a rise of 11.4 pct, according to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun poll of economists. Core private-sector machinery orders, which exclude volatile orders from electric utilities and for ships, are viewed as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending. Year-on-year, core machinery orders were down 0.5 pct in August after dropping 1.2 pct in July. Machinery orders placed by the manufacturing sector jumped 9.3 pct month-on-month in August and were up 8.4 pct from a year before. Orders placed by non-manufacturers were up 5.1 pct month-on-month and fell 7.2 pct from a year earlier. Public-sector orders were down 4.4 pct from July and fell 5.5 pct from a year before. Foreign orders increased 29.1 pct from July and were up 54.2 pct year-on-year. Total orders rose 12.0 pct month-on-month and were up 17.2 pct from a year earlier.