TOKYO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core machinery orders logged the first drop in three months by falling a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent in April from the previous month, government data showed on Monday.
The total value of private-sector orders, excluding those for ships and power equipment, closely watched as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, came in at 886.3 billion yen (5.62 billion U.S. dollars), said the Cabinet Office.
Orders from manufacturers plunged 11.3 percent month on month to 419.4 billion yen, while those from non-manufacturers gained 5.9 percent to 475.3 billion yen, the data showed.
Core orders edged up by 0.7 percent in April from a year earlier.
The Cabinet Office maintained its basic assessment that machinery orders are showing signs of picking up. (1 U.S. dollar equals 157.63 Japanese yen) ■
