TOKYO, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core machinery orders fell 1.9 percent in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms in August, down for two consecutive months, government data showed on Wednesday.

The total value of private-sector orders excluding those for ships and power equipment, closely watched as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, came in at 858.1 billion yen (about 5.74 billion U.S. dollars) in August, said the Cabinet Office.

The result, which followed a 0.1 percent decrease in July, came in worse than average market forecast.

Both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors posted declines in August. Manufacturing orders retreated 2.5 percent to 388.4 billion yen, marking three consecutive months of decline.

Non-manufacturing orders fell 7.7 percent to 446.9 billion yen, the first decline in three months. By industry, the transportation and postal services sector saw a sharp 34.4 percent decline.

The Cabinet Office forecasts a 0.2 percent increase in machinery orders for the July-September period, meaning orders in September would need to rise by 4.2 percent compared to the previous month. (1 Japanese yen equals 0.0067 U.S. dollar) Enditem

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