TOKYO: Japan's core machinery orders rose 5.2% in December from the previous month, up for the third straight month, government data showed on Wednesday.

Manufacturers surveyed by the Cabinet Office forecast that core orders will fall 8.5% in January-March, after advancing 16.8% in the previous quarter.

Compared with a year earlier, core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, rose 11.8% in December, the Cabinet office data showed.