11 March 2002, 08:11 Japan Jan Machinery Orders Weaker Than Expected
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Japanese core machinery orders fell a surprisingly steep
15.6% in January from a month earlier, the government said Monday, suggesting
private investment will remain weak in months ahead.
The fall, the second in succession, was much sharper than that expected by
economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, who estimated on average that core
orders had fallen 4.2%.
Machinery orders are widely regarded as a leading indicator of corporate
capital investment. Core orders exclude those from electric power companies and
those for ships, which are often a source of volatility in the overall data due
to their large size.
Unadjusted core orders fell 22.2% from the year-earlier month.
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