Japan's machinery orders declined sharply in July on weaker non-manufacturing orders, official data revealed Thursday.
Core machinery orders that exclude ships and electric power companies, decreased 4.6 percent in July from the previous month, when orders were up 3.0 percent, the Cabinet Office reported.
This was the biggest fall in three months and came in worse than forecast of 1.8 percent drop.
The monthly fall was driven by the 3.9 percent decrease in non-manufacturing orders, while manufacturing orders expanded by 3.9 percent.
On a yearly basis, growth in core machinery orders eased more than expected to 4.9 percent from 7.6 percent in June. Orders were forecast to grow 5.4 percent.
The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers in Japan decreased 4.2 percent month-on-month in July, in contrast to the 0.3 percent rise in June.