2019.03.1220:45:00UTC+00Japan January Core Machine Orders Plunge 5.4%

The total value of core machine orders in Japan dropped a seasonally adjusted 5.4 percent in January, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday - coming in at 822.3 billion yen.

That missed expectations for a decline of 1.5 percent following the downwardly revised 0.3 percent fall in December (originally -0.1 percent).

On a yearly basis, core machine orders sank 2.9 percent - again shy of expectations for a fall of 2.1 percent following the 0.9 percent gain in the previous month.

Manufacturing orders fell 1.9 percent on month and 7.5 percent on year, while non-manufacturing orders tumbled 8.0 percent on month and added 1.0 percent on year.

Government orders rose 2.7 percent on month and 6.2 percent on year, while orders from overseas plummeted 18.1 percent on month and 22.7 percent on year and orders through agencies fell 1.3 percent on month and gained 6.5 percent on year.

The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan tumbled 7.9 percent on month.

Also on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on month in February. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent following the 0.6 percent decline in January.

On a yearly basis, producer prices climbed 0.8 percent - again exceeding expectations for a gain of 0.7 percent and up from 0.6 percent in the previous month.

Export prices were up 0.6 percent on month and down 1.7 percent on year in February, the bank said, while import prices gained 1.1 percent on month and fell 0.7 percent on year.