Core machine orders in Japan sank a seasonally adjusted 3.1 percent on month in April, the Cabinet Office said on Monday - coming in at 835.9 billion yen.
That missed expectations for a gain of 0.5 percent following the 1.4 percent increase in March.
On a yearly basis, core machine orders gained 2.7 percent - again missing expectations for 7.3 percent after dipping 0.7 percent in the previous month.
The total value of machine orders, which includes volatile ones for ships and electric power companies, climbed 2.7 percent on month and 2.0 percent on year to 2,296.6 billion yen.
Manufacturing orders gained 2.5 percent on month and 9.8 percent on year to 361.8 billion yen in April, while non-manufacturing orders dropped 5.0 percent on month and 2.1 percent on year to 471.5 billion yen.
Government orders shed 10.3 percent on month and gained 1.9 percent on year to 236.5 billion yen. Orders from overseas spiked 17.4 percent on month and 5.9 percent on year to 993.2 billion yen. Orders from agencies gained 0.8 percent on month and 10.3 percent on year to 125.4 billion yen.
For the second quarter of 2017, core machine orders are forecast to have tumbled 5.9 percent on quarter and 6.8 percent on year.
Also on Monday, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices in Japan were flat on month in May - missing expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent and down from 0.2 percent in April.
On a yearly basis, producer prices were up 2.1 percent - again beneath forecasts for 2.2 percent although unchanged from the previous month.
Export prices were up 1.0 percent on month and 4.4 percent on year in May, the bank said, while import prices gained 2.2 percent on month and 13.5 percent on year.
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