Japan core machinery orders slide 3% in November

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders, an indicator of corporate capital spending, fell for the third consecutive month in November in another dreary sign for the economy.

The 3.0 percent fall on-month missed the median forecast of a Dow Jones Newswires and Nikkei poll for a 1.8 percent rise, with the government warning of weakness in the non-manufacturing sector.

Machinery orders are volatile but reflect companies' appetite for spending on plants and equipment, with the latest data indicating weaker corporate sentiment amid fears for an economy hit by the strength of the yen. A strong Japanese currency hits the repatriated profits of exporters and makes their goods relatively more expensive overseas. Weak domestic demand meanwhile continues to hit manufacturers at home, with Japan's chronic deflation prompting consumers to delay purchases in the hope of further price falls, clouding corporate investment planning.

Japan saw its core consumer price index fall for a 21st straight month in November. Data "showed the pace of business investment among non-manufacturers remains very slow due to a lack of domestic demand," Norio Miyagawa, a senior economist at Mizuho Securities Research, told Dow Jones. Orders from non-manufacturers tumbled 10.5 percent in November, the data showed.

The government downgraded its assessment on machinery orders, warning of "weak movement" in the nation's non-manufacturing sectors.

The data, which exclude particularly volatile demand from power companies and for ships, followed a 1.4 percent fall in October and a 10.3 percent slide in September, the Cabinet Office said. AFP