TOKYO, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's machinery orders fell 9.1 percent in May from a month earlier, the Cabinet Office said in a report on Thursday.
Core machinery orders, excluding shipbuilders and electric power companies, in the recording month totaled 693 billion yen (7. 9 billion U.S. dollars) and marked the first decline in three months.
The figure has been closely watched as indicator of future business investment. However, the average forecast among economists for core machinery orders in May was 2.5 percent fall.