Japan Machinery Orders

Japan's core machinery orders, which exclude those for ships and electric power companies, declined by 0.7% month-on-month to 852 billion yen in September 2024, remaining in the red for the third straight month and missing market expectations for a 1.9% gain. Orders for the manufacturing sector fell slightly to 388.3 billion yen, while those for the non-manufacturing sector rose 1.5% to 453.7 billion yen. Industries that saw the biggest declines were pulp, paper & paper products (-32.8%), information services (-25.7%), chemical & chemical products (-18%), food & beverages (-15.5%) and electrical machinery (-15.4%). On an annual basis, private-sector machinery orders fell by 4.8% in September, accelerating from a 3.4% decline in August and missing forecasts for a 2.2% rise.