Japan's machine tool orders increased for the sixth straight month in December amid strong foreign demand, preliminary data from the Japan Machine Tool Builders Association, or JMTBA, showed on Wednesday.
Machine tool orders climbed 10.6 percent annually in December, though slower than the 14.8 percent surge in the previous month. The expected growth rate was 14.2 percent.
Foreign orders logged a double-digit growth of 15.1 percent from last year, while domestic demand dropped by 1.1 percent.
On a monthly basis, machine tool orders grew 15.5 percent in December, reversing a 4.5 percent fall in November.