InsideJapan News Network

Order levels for core machinery in Japan's private sector fall in November - the third month in a row.

The drop of three per cent is being seen by experts as a sign that the country's economic recovery remains uncertain.

Machinery orders are seen as a benchmark for measuring planned spending on new plants and equipment but the continued fall could reflect ongoing corporate fears over the impact of the strong yen.

Norio Miyagawa, a senior economist at Mizuho Securities Research, told Dow Jones that the new data "showed the pace of business investment among non-manufacturers remains very slow due to a lack of domestic demand".

The latest data from the Cabinet Office follows a 1.4 per cent drop in October and a 10.3 per cent fall in September.

Meanwhile, Japan's current account surplus recently fell for the first time in three months following import growth in November.

Written by Mark Smith