Core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 4.5 percent in March from the previous month to 990.7 billion yen after a 4.9 percent drop in February, leading the government to downgrade its assessment, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
Compared with a year earlier, the orders represent an unadjusted 5.8 percent slip following a 4.2 percent decline in February. The total amount of core orders in March fell below 1 trillion yen for the first time since May 2005.
The results were far below average market expectations of a 1.0 percent monthly gain and a 1.9 percent increase on the year. Declines in demand for items such as machine tools and boilers from makers of general machinery as well as petroleum and coal products contributed to the fall, Cabinet Office officials said.