MNI 5 THINGS: Japan Apr Machine Orders Jump To 10-Year High

--Japan Apr Core Machine Orders +10.1% M/M; MNI Median +2.5%

--Japan Apr Core Machine Orders Post 1st M/M Rise in 2 Months

--Japan Apr Core Orders at Y943.1 Bln Highest Since June 2008 

--Japan Govt Upgrades View: Machine Orders Picking Up

     TOKYO (MNI) - Japan's core machinery orders, which exclude volatile orders

for power generation equipment and ship, surged 10.1% on month to a nearly

10-year high, indicating capital investment remains solid, data from the Cabinet

Office released Monday showed.

     The high level of orders as well as a rebound in orders from both the

manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors prompted the government to upgrade

its assessment of machinery orders for the first time in eight months.

     The key points from the latest machinery orders data:

     * April's core order increase was the first in two months after -3.9% in

March and higher than the MNI survey median economist forecast for a +2.5% rise

(forecast range: from -1.5% to +6.1%). It was partly supported by a large

one-off order.

     * April core orders totaling Y943.1 billion were the largest since June

2008.

     * The three-month moving average of core orders also indicates capital

investment is firm. The moving average rose 0.5% in April from the previous

three-month period, the first rise in three months.

     * Orders from the manufacturing sector jumped 22.7% in April for the first

rise in two months, rebounding sharply from -17.5% in March, while those from

the non-manufacturing sector edged up 0.4% on month for the fourth straight rise

after +2.2% in March.

     * The Cabinet Office upgraded its assessment, saying, "Machinery orders are

picking up," compared to the previous statement that they were "showing signs of

a pickup." It was the first upward revision since August 2017. The expression

"picking up" was last used in June 2015.

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-2175-0040; email: hiroshi.inoue@marketnews.com

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-4670-5309; email: max.sato@marketnews.com

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