"… machinery order drop is very large, and it may be a signal that Japanese companies are becoming cautious about investment"
- Hiroaki Muto, a senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management
|Japan's current account surplus for May narrowed to the lowest level in more than 20 years and month-on-month core machinery orders dropped 14.8 per cent, reports showed on Monday. Current account surplus shed to 215.1 billion yen.
"Today's machinery order drop is very large, and it may be a signal that Japanese companies are becoming cautious about investment" amid concern about a global economic slowdown, said Hiroaki Muto, a senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo.
"Though exports have been slumping, we don't expect Japan to have any major trade deficit."
Stocks closed lower the same day. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average erased 1.37 per cent, or 123.87 points, to 8,896.88.
The broader Topix Index fell 1.02 per cent, or 7.90, to 763.93.
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