2019.10.0920:45:00UTC+00Japan Core Machine Orders Sink 2.4% In August

Core machine orders in Japan fell a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent on month in August, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - standing at 875.3 billion yen.

That missed expectations for a flat reading following the 6.6 percent decline in July.

On a yearly basis, core machine orders plummeted 14.5 percent - again missing forecasts for a decline of 8.4 percent following the 0.3 percent gain in the previous month.

The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan increased by 11.8 percent on month and fell 0.2 percent on year in August.

Government orders skyrocketed 36.8 percent on month and 37.7 percent on year in August, while overseas orders jumped 21.3 percent on month but fell 9.2 percent on year. Orders through agencies rose 2.5 percent on month and lost 4.8 percent on year.

For the third quarter of 2019, core machine orders are forecast to have fallen 6.1 percent on quarter and 3.0 percent on year.

Also on Thursday, the Bank of Japan said: . Overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.0 percent on year in September, coming in at 539.350 trillion yen. That was in line with expectations and up from 2.1 percent in August.

Excluding trusts, lending was up an annual 2.2 percent - unchanged from the previous month and in line with forecasts.

Lending from trusts rose 1.0 percent on year to 69.575 trillion yen, while lending from foreign banks gained 5.0 percent to 3.380 trillion yen.

. Producer prices in Japan were flat on month in September - matching forecasts following the 0.3 percent decline in August.

On a yearly basis, producer prices were down 1.1 percent - again in line with expectations after sliding 0.9 percent in the previous month.

Export prices were up 0.1 percent on month and down 6.0 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices fell 0.4 percent on month and plummeted 9.3 percent on year.