Orders for machinery fell for a third month in December as businesses scrapped investment plans amid a collapse in exports and deteriorating earnings.
Bookings slid 1.7 percent from November, when they fell 16.2 percent, the sharpest drop since the survey started in 1987, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
Economists predicted an 8.6 percent drop. Machinery orders signal capital spending in the next three to six months.
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