TOKYO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 2.1 percent in October from the previous month to 869.8 billion yen (about 5.66 billion U.S. dollars), government data showed on Monday.
Machinery orders from domestic firms, excluding volatile shipbuilding and power-related orders, that are closely watched as a leading indicator for corporate capital investment, grew for the first time in four months, according to the Cabinet Office.
By sector, manufacturing orders rose 12.5 percent to 436.8 billion yen, the first increase in five months, while those from non-manufacturing sector orders fell 1.2 percent to 448.4 billion yen.
Overall machinery orders, including those from the public sector and abroad, jumped 21.1 percent to 3,483.2 billion yen.
The Cabinet Office maintained its overall assessment, saying that the pickup in machinery orders is at a standstill. (1 yen equals 0.0065 U.S. dollars) ■