— See Separate Table For Details Of Individual Forecasts
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s core private-sector machinery orders appear
to have posted a second consecutive month-on-month fall in October, down
by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% after -8.2%% in September and +11.0% in
August, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by
Market News International.
The Cabinet Office will release October machinery orders data at
0850 JST on Thursday, Dec. 8 (2350 GMT on Wednesday).
Core private-sector machinery orders, which exclude volatile demand
from electric utilities and for ships, are viewed as a leading indicator
of corporate capital investment.
“Firms may be more cautious about their capital investment amid
growing concerns about the economy caused by the lingering strength of
the yen, European debt crisis and the flooding in Thailand,” said Takumi
Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank.
Some data released recently suggest a slight fall in October
machinery orders.
Orders for machine tools in the domestic market rose 25.0% on year
in October, with the pace of increase decelerating from +30.9% in
September, an industry organization has said.
Core machinery orders are forecast by the Cabinet Office to fall
3.8% in the October-December quarter, which would be the first drop in
four quarters.
Last month the Cabinet Office downgraded its assessment for the
first time since November 2010, saying, “Machinery orders are
fluctuating, taking one step forward and one step back.” In August, it
said, “Machinery orders are picking up.”
skodama@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4838 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]