Japan's core machinery orders fell in April for the first time in three months, government data showed on Monday, due to a pullback from the prior month's big jump, but the Cabinet Office said capital spending remained on track for a recovery.
The data followed the Bank of Japan's decision last week to start trimming its huge bond purchases, with the central bank due to announce a detailed plan next month on reducing its nearly $5 trillion balance sheet.
Core orders fell 2.9% month-on-month in April, versus a 3.1% decline expected by economists in a Reuters poll, the first drop in three months. It is a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months.