Japan's machinery orders jump but current account surplus dives

Japan released positive data today, core machinery orders jumping 11.0 percent in August. This followed an 8.2 percent fall in July. Compared to a year earlier, core orders were up 2.1 percent in August.

Other economic data from Japan recently have been mixed.

On Tuesday, Japan reported a current account surplus of 407.5 billion yen for August, 64.3 percent less than a year earlier and its lowest level in more than two years. A 22.4 percent rise in imports swamped a 4.0 percent rise in exports, resulting in a trade deficit of 694.7 billion yen. Exports fell 0.7 percent compared to July.

Also taking a turn for the worse was service sector sentiment. The economy watchers index for current conditions fell to 45.3 in September from 47.3 in August, the second consecutive decline. The index for future conditions fell to 46.4 from 47.1.

Consumer confidence, however, continued its recovery from the March disaster, with the consumer confidence index rising to 38.6 in September from 37.0 in August.