Japan core machinery orders rebound, sign of gradual capex pickup - RTRS

Reuters out with a commentary on the Japanese core machinery orders data released earlier on the day, especially after the data rebounded in Feb, but missed expectations big time.

Key Quotes:

"The rebound in machinery orders in February wasn't strong enough to reverse the decline in January. But with capacity usage picking up, we expect business investment to expand at a robust pace this year," Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics

“Japanese firms may hold back from accelerating capital expenditure on concerns that Britain's plan to leave the European Union and U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist tendencies could affect Japan's export-reliant economy”

"Companies remain wary about uncertainty over political developments in Europe and Trump's policies, therefore capital spending may lack momentum through the current quarter," said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute."As the global economy recovers, however, capital spending growth should pick up pace towards the latter half of this fiscal year as the latest BOJ tankan suggests."