FX.co ★ Japan Machine Tool Orders Plunge 17.6%

Japan's machine tool orders declined for the eighth straight month in August largely due to weak domestic demand, preliminary data from the Japan Machine Tool Builders Association, or JMTBA, showed Monday.

Machine tool orders plummeted 17.6 percent year-on-year in August, though slower than the 19.7 percent fall in the previous month.

Domestic demand was 31.1 percent lower in August compared to last year, and foreign orders contracted 9.1 percent.

On a monthly basis, machine tool orders rose 0.4 percent in August, compared with a 6.4 percent decline in the prior month.