Japan’s machinery orders up but remain weak

Orders received by Japanese machinery makers in October rose for the first time in 3 months. But the government says capital investment by manufacturers remains weak. The Cabinet Office says the value of orders major machinery makers received from domestic firms in October was 704.4 billion yen, or about 8-and-a-half billion dollars, according to Japan’s (NHK WORLD) website. The figure was up 2.6% from September and marked the first increase in 3 months. Orders for ships and electricity are excluded due to their volatility. Orders from manufacturers declined, but orders from non-manufacturing industries such as information technology and construction continued to grow. The Cabinet Office says the general level of orders remains low. It says there were signs of recovery in capital investment among non-manufacturing firms, but capital investment by manufacturers remained weak due to the global economic downturn. The office downgraded its basic overall assessment, saying orders were sluggish.