Japan Machinery Orders, Leading Indicator, Economy Watchers April 2008

Japanese machine orders rose in April after falling for two consecutive months, however Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota stressed that demand for machinery still remains weak. Machinery orders, which give an indication of likely capital spending in the coming three to six months, were up by 5.5 percent in April after declining 8.3 percent in March and 12.3 percent in February,