2019.06.1120:45:00UTC+00Japan Core Machine Orders Climb 5.2% In April

The total value of core machine orders in Japan advanced a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent on month in April, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday - standing at 913.7 billion yen.

That beat forecasts for a drop of 0.8 percent following the 3.8 percent gain in March.

Ona yearly basis, core machine orders advanced 2.5 percent - again beating expectations for a decline of 5.3 percent following the 0.7 percent decline in the previous month.

The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan increased 4.3 percent on month but fell 5.5 percent on year in April to 2,352.0 billion yen.

Manufacturing orders were up 16.3 percent on month and down 8.2 percent on year to 400.1 billion yen, while non-manufacturing orders advanced 1.2 percent on month and 12.6 percent on year to 517.6 billion yen.

Government orders skyrocketed 93.4 percent on month and 12.7 percent on year to 294.6 billion yen, while orders from overseas tumbled 24.7 percent on month and 18.3 percent on year to 808.3 billion yen and orders through agencies added 4.4 percent on month and 3.3 percent on year to 131.0 billion yen.

Also on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices in Japan were down 0.1 percent on month in May. That missed forecasts for a flat reading following the 0.4 percent increase in April.

On a yearly basis, producer prices added 0.7 percent - in line with expectations following the 1.3 percent gain in the previous month.

Export prices were down 1.4 percent on month and 2.7 percent on year, the central bank said, while import prices sank 0.3 percent on month and 1.4 percent on year.