Japan's core private-sector machinery orders in January fell 3.2 percent from the previous month to 718.3 billion yen (US$7.3 billion), government sources said on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted figure is the lowest level in value terms since May 1987, the Cabinet Office said.

The reading, widely regarded as a key indicator of corporate capital spending about six months ahead, represented an unadjusted 39.5 percent decrease from a year earlier, the office said.

The core orders exclude those for ships and from electric power companies as they tend to vary widely because of their large size.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2009)