German factory orders and Japanese machinery orders fall in May

The US manufacturing recovery may be about to end but recent data suggest that growth in manufacturing elsewhere may also be weakening.

Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that German factory orders unexpectedly fell in May.

German factory orders unexpectedly fell for the first time in five months in May as demand for goods made in Europe’s largest economy waned across the 16- nation euro region.

Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, declined 0.5 percent from April, when they rose a revised 3.2 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent gain for May, according to the median of 30 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, orders increased 24.8 percent.

Today, Japan reported a plunge in machinery orders. From AFP/CNA:

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders, a key indicator of corporate capital spending, fell more than expected in May, figures showed Thursday, amid caution over the nation's economic health.

The orders dropped 9.1 per cent in May from the previous month with firms holding back on business investment.

And that was not the only negative news out of Japan today.

A separate report Thursday showed that Japan's current account surplus in May shrank for the first time in 10 months, hit by slower export growth and a drop in income on overseas investment, the finance ministry said.

The surplus in the current account -- the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world -- came to 1.21 trillion yen (13.7 billion dollars), down by 8.1 per cent from a year ago.

And from Reuters:

Japan's service sector sentiment index fell to 47.5 in June, a Cabinet Office survey showed on Thursday, down for two months in a row in a sign of slowing recovery in business confidence.