Japan April machinery orders seen rising, BoJ rates unchanged – Reuters poll

The latest poll of 16 analysts conducted by Reuters, revealed that a majority of them see the Japanese machinery orders rebounding in April while expecting that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to maintain its status-quo next week.

Key Findings:

“Core machinery orders, a volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, likely rose 2.8 percent in April from the previous month after a 3.9 percent decline.

From a year ago, core machinery orders, which exclude those for ships and from electric power utilities, were seen rising 3.9 percent in the month after a 2.4 percent fall in March.

Analysts project the economy will return to a moderate growth trend in this quarter but there is a possibility that the economy is peaking just as trade friction with the United States escalates.

The poll also found the Bank of Japan was expected to retain its short-term interest rate at minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year government bond yield target at around zero percent at its two-day policy meeting on June 14-15.”