TOKYO Cheap Nike Air Max Free Shipping , Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core machinery orders dropped at the quickest rate in more than five years during the April-June quarter as businesses remained disinclined to increase investment in the wake of the April 1 sales tax hike, the Cabinet Office said in a report Thursday.

According to the government report, machinery orders except those for volatile ones including ships and utilities, tumbled 10. 4 percent in the recording period on a seasonally-adjusted basis to 2,282.4 billion yen, marking the first decline in the last five quarters.

The Cabinet Office's figures also showed the latest quarterly decline was the sharpest on record since the January to March quarter of 2009 Cheap Nike Air Max Outlet , when orders plunged 12.3 percent in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The latest figure led the government to downwardly revise its assessment of core machinery orders for a second straight month, from the orders being at a "standstill in their growth trend," last month, to them, "moving in a seesaw manner," in the recording period.

While the Cabinet Office said it now expects orders to rebound 2.9 percent in the current quarter ending September Cheap Nike Air Max Shoes , it noted significant decreases in orders from both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, with the former dropping 8.5 percent to 934.3 billion yen and the latter slumping 6.7 percent to 1,390.5 billion yen.

Analysts said the figures confirm the downside effects of the April 1 consumption tax hike from 5 to 8 percent as both manufacturers' production levels and the volume of exports from Japan dropped markedly in the second quarter.

Last week the finance ministry announced that the nation's current account balance fell into a deficit of 507.5 billion yen in the first half of 2014 marking the largest amount of red ink for any six-month period and the first time since comparable data became available that a deficit was logged in the first half of a year.

The ministry's data showed that imports climbed to 14.7 percent from a year earlier to 41,875.2 billion yen in the recording period, driven by Japan's increasing need for natural resources, particularly fuel like crude oil and liquefied natural gas Cheap Nike Air Max , as the nation remains without nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

But, more pertinently, the data showed that exports from Japan grew by only 8.1 percent in the period to 35,762.7 billion yen, and while aided by a weaker yen the trade goods balance stood at a record deficit of 6,112.4 billion yen in the period.

With machinery orders being a key advance indicator for corporate capital spending Cheap Air Max Mens , with the government using the data to predict the strength of business spending in a six to nine month period ahead with such business investment accounting for roughly 15 percent of Japan's gross domestic product, analysts are eyeing the government and the central bank's reaction to the machinery order data and a slew of other macroeconomic figures, to determine if any further monetary easing measures will be taken.

On Wednesday the government announced that Japan's gross domestic product shrank an annualized 6.8 percent in the April to June quarter, which is further evidence of the degree to which the April sales tax hike zapped both business and consumer spending.

The GDP figures showed the nation's exports were waning and impacting levels of industrial production, with exports falling 1. 8 percent in the second quarter, underpinning the severity of the latest machinery order data.

The Bank of Japan downgraded its latest view on exports last week stating Cheap Air Max Online , "Exports have shown some weakness," compared with the previous month's assessment stating that they had "leveled off more or less."

The central bank said that due to slumping exports, factory output has also been impacted, with the bank noting that, " Industrial production has been increasing moderately, but it has recently shown some weakness."

The bank has Cheap Air Max Free Shipping , however, opted to hold off on unrolling fresh quantitative and qualitative easing measures for the time being as the BOJ believes the economy is essentially on the right track, but some economists believe the bank needs to address the issue of falling export rates and the negative impact this is having on the nation's factory output and slumping machinery orders.

Industrial production declined 3.3 percent in June from May, marking the sharpest decline in more than three years and the 10.4 percent quarterly retraction of machinery orders punctuates the predicament faced by the central bank and the finance ministry.

While machinery orders in June rose 8.8 percent to 745.8 billion yen, recovering from drops of 19.5 percent and 9.1 percent in May and April respectively, June's figure came in well below median analysts expectations for a 15 percent increase.

The types of machinery included in the monthly government survey comprise engines and turbines Cheap Air Max Outlet , heavy electrical machinery, electronic and communication equipment, industrial machinery, machine tools, railway rolling stock, road vehicles Cheap Air Max Shoes , aircraft, ships, water crafts, as well as sub types in the aforementioned categories.

Firm beats giants with predictions

China's national soccer team failed to make the cut for the 2014 World Cup, but that hasn't shaken a Chinese tech company's credibility in predicting game results.

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