Japan's core machinery orders rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace in February, data from the Cabinet Office showed on Wednesday.
Core machinery orders increased 4.3 percent from the previous month. This was the first increase in three months.
Core orders were down 3.5 percent in January and fell 0.8 percent in December. Orders were expected to grow 1.1 percent in February.
The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers in Japan grew 3.0 percent in February from the previous month. However, this was much slower than the 9.8 percent increase seen in January.
Manufacturing orders rebounded 3.0 percent after a 1.3 percent fall. Non-manufacturing orders, excluding volatile orders, surged 11.4 percent, in contrast to the 7.4 percent drop in January.