Japan's core machinery orders slipped for the first time in three months in May, hurting hopes that a pickup in business spending would offset pressure on an economy struggling with surging costs of energy and other imports due to a weak yen.

The decline in core orders comes a day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling coalition government increased its majority in the upper house of parliament, strengthening the premier's hand as leader.

Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, lost 5.6 percent in May from the previous month, posting their first drop in three months, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday.

It was almost exactly in line with economists' median estimate of a 5.5 percent contraction and followed a 10.8 percent jump in the previous month and a 7.1 percent increase in March.

Japanese firms could delay spending due to persistent constraints in the supply of chips and parts and rising energy and raw material prices that have been aggravated by a weakening yen, sending wholesale inflation soaring.

(Cover via CFP)