Japan's private-sector core machinery orders, which exclude volatile sectors such as ships and electric power, decreased 3.7% month on month on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, according to data from the Cabinet Office released on Wednesday.
The pace of the drop was sharper than the consensus forecast of a 1.2% fall tracked by Investing.com, and compared with a 9.7% expansion recorded in the previous month.
By sector, manufacturing orders fell 1%, driven primarily by weakness in industries such as foods and beverages, chemical and chemical products, and non-ferrous metals. Meanwhile, non-manufacturing orders fell 2.6%.