This data is for private sector machinery orders (excluding ship and power equipment).
Also referred to as Core Machinery orders. its published by Japan's Cabinet Office.
-1.9 % m/m. A good size miss.
- expected 3.6% m/m, prior -3.6%
- 3rd consecutive month of decline
-5.2 % y/y. Ditto on the good size miss.
- expected -1.1% y/y, prior 0.6%
This data point is used as an indicator of business capex 6 to 9 months out. So today's data, and the three months of consecutive decline, is not a good sign.
As a consolation, companies surveyed do expect core orders to rise in the July to September quarter. We'll see.
- In the April to June quarter core orders fell 4.7% q/q, biggest fall q/q since April-June 2016
- Orders fell January - March q/q too
- These 2 consecutive falls q/q the longest since 2012
USD/JPY a tickle higher on the data.
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A similar sounding, but different data point is the Machine tool orders
- This was out yesterday: Japanese July machine tool orders 26.3% y/y vs 31.1% prior
- This data tracks trends in Japanese machine tool orders placed with major manufacturers in Japan. Its used as a leading indicator of production.