TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's core machinery orders rose 3.8% in March from the previous month, government data showed on Wednesday.
The result beat the median estimate of a 0.7% decline in a Reuters poll of economists.
Compared with a year earlier, core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending, declined 0.7% in March.
Manufacturers surveyed by the Cabinet Office forecast core orders would rise 15.7% in April-June, after falling 3.2% in the previous quarter.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chris Gallagher)