Machine orders rose in April after falling for two consecutive months as companies replaced aging equipment, but economic and fiscal policy chief Hiroko Ota said demand is still weak.
Orders, which signal capital spending in the next three to six months, rose 5.5 percent after falling 8.3 percent in March and 12.3 percent in February, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday. The median estimate in a survey of 26 economists was for a 3 percent increase.
The longest postwar expansion may be over, the government said Monday, as record crude oil and raw materials costs discourage companies from hiring and investing. Toyota Motor Corp. said last month it will cut spending on research and development for the first time since 2001.