Core private sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 2.8 pct in October from the previous month following a 7.4 pct drop in September, the Cabinet Office said. The increase in October was below the consensus forecast of a 5.7 pct rise based on a Nihon Keizai Shimbun poll of economists. Core private sector machinery orders, which exclude orders from electric utilities and for ships, are viewed as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending. Year-on-year, core machinery orders were down 1.2 pct in October after dropping 1.5 pct in September. Machinery orders placed by the manufacturing sector declined 10.0 pct month-on-month in October and were up 2.2 pct from a year before. Orders placed by non-manufacturers were up 10.9 pct month-on-month and fell 4.2 pct from a year earlier. Public sector orders were down 6.4 pct in October and fell 16.7 pct from a year before. Foreign orders jumped 36.8 pct from September and were up 37.6 pct year-on-year. Total orders rose 5.9 pct month-on-month and were up 9.8 pct from a year earlier. For the October-December quarter, core machinery orders are expected to increase 5.7 pct from the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said.