Japan's private-sector core machinery orders fell 11.9% month over month in December 2017 on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 5.7% in the prior month, data from the Cabinet Office showed.

Core orders, which exclude orders for ships and from electric power companies, slipped 5.0% in December 2017 from a year earlier.

For 2017, core orders decreased 1.1%.

Private-sector core orders are expected to rise 0.6% in the January-March period from the prior three months.