TOKYO, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core machinery orders, a leading indicator of capital expenditure, fell 9.1 percent in April from the previous month to 919 billion yen (about 6.33 billion U.S. dollars), official data showed Wednesday.
The data marked the first decline in three months as orders from both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors declined, according to the Cabinet Office.
Manufacturing orders dipped 0.6 percent to 456.6 billion yen, with 7 of 17 industries reporting month-over-month declines, particularly in electrical machinery and general-purpose production equipment.
Orders for autos and related parts fell sharply by 20.3 percent, while the steel industry saw a strong increase of 39.9 percent.
Non-manufacturing orders (excluding ships and utilities) declined 11.8 percent to 470.8 billion yen.
Despite the weak headline figure, the Cabinet Office maintained its basic assessment that machinery orders are "showing signs of recovery." The three-month moving average of core orders rose 2.2 percent, remaining in positive territory. (1 yen equals 0.0069 U.S. dollar) ■
