A closely watched indicator of corporate capital spending, Japan's core machinery orders rebounded 9.7% in June from a record low the previous month, government data showed on August 10.
The result following a fall of 3% in May.
The core orders, which exclude particularly volatile demand from power companies and for ships, are seen as a key barometer of business investment. Japanese companies have been slashing their investment to try to survive the country's deepest recession in decades, but there are hopes that the worst of the economic slump is over.
Orders from manufacturing companies rose 14.6% in June after a 5.4% gain in May, while orders from non-manufacturers were up 7.3% following a 6.9% fall the previous month.
Core orders are expected to decline 8.6% in the three months to September from the previous quarter, following a drop of 4.9% in April-June, according to the manufacturers' own forecasts.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
