Aug. core machinery orders up 3.4%;view upgraded

October 11, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's seasonally adjusted core machinery orders in August rose 3.4 percent from the previous month, up for the second straight month, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.

The growth was led by brisk spending by manufactures, apparently for investment in labor-saving technologies due to shortages of workers.

The government agency revised up its assessment for the first time in 13 months, saying that machinery orders have shown signs of picking up. The previous assessment said that machinery orders have stalled.

Private-sector orders excluding those for ships and power equipment, closely watched as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, came to 882.4 billion yen.

The August result, which followed an 8 percent increase in July, beat a median estimate of a 1.1 percent rise by 20 economic research institutes surveyed by Jiji Press. Jiji Press