Japan's machinery orders dip as fresh COVID-19 pandemic measures crimp

Japan's machinery orders dip as fresh COVID-19 pandemic measures crimp spending

Japan's core machinery เล่น สล็อต เวลาไหน ได้เงินดี orders fell in January for the first time in four months due to a big drop in service-sector demand as new curbs to stem the spread of the coronavirus clouded the outlook for business spending.

Policymakers in the world's third-largest economy are counting on capital expenditure to sustain a private sector-led recovery from last year's pandemic-induced slump.

Cabinet Office data out on Monday (Mar 15) showed core machinery orders, a highly volatile data series seen as a leading indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, fell 4.5 per cent in January from the previous month.

The reading compared with a 5.5 per cent decline expected by economists in a Reuters poll, falling for the first time in four months.

Analysts saw the monthly drop partly as a pull back from solid gains in previous months, while they warned against the risk of a prolonged state of emergency issued in Tokyo areas putting downward pressure on capital spending.

"Machinery orders probably fell in the first quarter as risks remain as to whether the state of emergency may be prolonged," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

"A rebound in Chinese economy, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and US stimulus may be encouraging, but the outlook on business investment will much depend on developments of the pandemic."