TOKYO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core private-sector machinery orders in September remained flat compared with a month earlier, as solid demand for semiconductor-producing equipment had a respite, government data revealed Wednesday.
The orders amounted to 838.9 billion yen (7.3 billion U.S. dollars) following a decline of 2.4 percent in August, excluding those for ships and electricity utilities due to their volatility, according to the Cabinet Office.
Machinery orders from the manufacturing sector surged 24.8 percent to 465.7 billion yen (4.1 billion U.S. dollars), partly due to large orders from the chemical and chemical product sector.
The office maintained its assessment, saying the machinery orders, which are regarded as a leading indicator of corporate capital expenditures, were showing "signs of stalling in their recovery" following a downward revision in August.
The decline was triggered by electrical machinery as well as information and communication electronics equipment sectors, due to a drop in orders for chip-related makers.
Meanwhile, orders from non-manufacturers dropped 11.7 percent to 402.7 billion yen (3.5 billion dollars), the first decline in two months, with the telecommunications sector decreasing amid robust demand for next-generation 5G networks in August.
A government official said there is "still high demand for orders for semiconductor-making equipment but such a move has paused from the previous month."
The official added that orders from the manufacturers "have already recovered to pre-pandemic level and continue to be solid," and that the concern is whether orders from non-manufacturers will catch up.
Overseas orders, considered as an indicator of future exports, sank 14.2 percent to 1.1 trillion yen (9.6 billion U.S. dollars), down for the second month in a row.
Orders from the public sector sagged 23.8 percent to 220.9 billion yen (1.9 billion U.S. dollars).
Total orders fell 10.4 percent to 2.4 trillion yen (20.9 billion U.S. dollars) in September, following a 7.8 percent slide in August.
On a quarterly basis, core orders climbed 0.7 percent in the July-September period after an increase of 4.6 percent from the previous three months.
For the October-December period, a 3.1 percent growth is expected as orders from non-manufacturers including railways are forecast on investments that had been delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem
