Japan's Core Machinery Orders Down 1.7 Pct in Jan.

   Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)--Japan's seasonally adjusted core machinery orders in January dropped 1.7 pct from the previous month, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
   Private-sector orders excluding those for ships and power equipment, closely watched as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, totaled 823.8 billion yen, falling for the first time in two months.
   The Cabinet Office lowered its basic assessment on machinery orders for the first time since November 2022, saying that they are weakening. In the previous month, the agency said that machinery orders were at a standstill.
   Orders from manufacturers fell 13.2 pct to 362.3 billion yen, decreasing for the first time in two months.
   The result reflected a decline in orders from chemical makers that followed a large increase in the previous month, and also sluggish demand for motors and computers from automobile and auto parts makers.

(2024/03/18-13:04)

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