Japan's core machinery orders fall 4.4% in Sept

The decrease in core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, compared with a 0.7% contraction forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, the Cabinet Office data showed.

TOKYO: Japan's core machinery orders fell for the first time in three months in September, dashing hopes the economy would quickly overcome the devastation caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

The decrease in core orders underscored corporate Japan's reluctance to commit to firmer capital spending as a resurgence in global coronavirus infections darkened the outlook for output and exports.