Japan core machinery orders fell in March for a second straight month, indicating firms' cautious about capital spending amid worries about the global economic slowdown.

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Japan's economy emerged from recession in the first quarter as a post-COVID consumption rebound offset global headwinds. But tame reading in the machinery orders may cast doubts about the pace of the economic recovery.

Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a barometer of capital expenditure in the coming six to nine months, declined 3.9 percent in March from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday.

That was weaker than the median forecast of a 0.7 percent advance by economists in a Reuters poll.

Compared with a year earlier, core orders, which exclude volatile numbers from shipping and electric utilities, fell 3.5 percent in March, according to the data. That was also weaker than a 1.4 percent gain of forecast.

Manufacturers surveyed by the Cabinet Office are expecting core orders to rise 4.6 percent in April-June, after a 2.6 percent growth in the previous quarter.

The government kept its view on machinery orders, saying they are "stalling".

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