TOKYO - JAPAN'S core machinery orders, a key gauge of private-sector corporate capital spending, soared by 19.6 per cent in January from the previous month, the government said on Monday.

The rise, which reversed a 3.2 per cent fall in December, was much higher than the market's average forecast for a rise of 3.1 per cent.

Machinery orders placed by the manufacturing sector rose 13.8 per cent and orders by non-manufacturers jumped 25.9 per cent, the cabinet office said.

The core private-sector machinery orders, which exclude particularly volatile demand from power companies and for ships, are regarded as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending.