Japan's core private sector machinery orders in November fell 4.9 percent from the previous month, declining for the first time in three months, government data showed Thursday.
The orders, which exclude those for ships and from electric utilities due to their volatility, totaled 816.7 billion yen ($5.5 billion), according to the Cabinet Office.
The drop in machinery orders, seen as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, followed a 0.7 percent rise in October.
