Japan machinery orders rise more than expected

Japan's core machinery orders rose for a second straight month in November, government data showed on Monday, a sign that corporate appetite for capital spending remained resilient despite pressure from soaring raw material prices.

The gain in core orders, a key indicator of capital expenditure, could be a relief to policymakers hoping for corporate investment to trigger a private demand-led recovery in the world's third-largest economy.

Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, grew 3.4pc in November from October, rising for the second straight month, the Cabinet Office data showed.

It beat economists' median estimate of a 1.4pc rise and followed a 3.8pc jump in the previous month.

However, Japanese firms could be cautious about boosting spending due to higher raw material, fuel and transportation costs that are sending wholesale inflation soaring and squeezing corporate margins.