Core machine orders in Japan jumped 3.8 percent on month in April, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday – worth 902.5 billion yen.
The headline figure beat forecasts for a decline of 1.8 percent following the 2.9 percent gain in March.
On a yearly basis, core machine orders added 3.0 percent – also topping expectations for a decline of 1.4 percent following the 2.6 percent gain in the previous month.
Upon the release of the data, the Cabinet Office raised its assessment of core machine orders, saying that they are recovering.
The total number of machinery orders, including those volatile ones for ships and from electric power companies, slipped 1.1 percent on month and 20.9 percent on year to 2.455 trillion yen.
Manufacturing orders added 10.5 percent on month and 16.3 percent on year to 402.0 billion yen in April, while non-manufacturing orders lost 0.6 percent on month and 5.5 percent on year to 494.9 billion yen.
Government orders surged 45.3 percent on month and 12.8 percent on year to 319.1 billion yen. Orders from overseas dropped 7.0 percent on month and 43.5 percent on year to 858.3 billion yen. Orders from agencies gained 9.7 percent on month and 6.6 percent on year to 104.2 billion yen.
For the second quarter of 2015, core machine orders are forecast to have fallen 7.4 percent on quarter and 1.7 percent on year.
Also on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices in Japan were up 0.3 percent on month in May. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.1 percent gain in April.
On a yearly basis, producer prices were unchanged at -2.1 percent versus forecasts for a decline of 2.2 percent.
Export prices were up 0.1 percent on month and down 4.4 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices were down 0.1 percent on month and 18.0 percent on year.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com