Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 15.6 percent in January to 763.8 billion yen, due to a sharp fall in orders from nonmanufacturers, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
It was the worst month-on-month fall since the government began recording machinery orders in the current format in April 1987, a senior Cabinet Office official said.
Total orders for January were also the lowest since the 735.3 billion yen logged in July 1987, the official said.