Japan's machinery orders jump

Japan's core machinery orders jumped 11 percent in August, scoring their biggest gain in a year in a sign that a post-quake recovery continued to buttress the world's No 3 economy in the face of a global slowdown and a strong yen. The figure, a leading indicator of capital expenditure, may act as some solace to Japanese policymakers who are wary that Europe's debt crisis, the US slowdown and the yen's rise may stall recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The jump, much bigger than the market median forecast of a 4.9 percent rise, marks a rebound from an 8.2 percent slump in July and follows a string of disappointing data including exports and factory output in August. But Wednesday's orders report showed the economy continued to benefit from the rebuilding effort, driven so far mainly companies' drive to bring production back to pre-quake levels as Tokyo has yet to release the bulk of reconstruction funding.
Compared with a year earlier, core orders, increased 2.1 percent in August, against a 3.6 percent drop expected by economists. Manufacturers surveyed by the government in June forecast a 0.9 percent rise in core orders in the July-September quarter. That result would be assured even if orders fell 10 percent in September, the government said.