Japan's machine tool orders increased for the seventh straight month in April, driven by robust foreign demand, preliminary data from the Japan Machine Tool Builders Association, or JMTBA, showed on Thursday.

Machine tool orders climbed 7.7 percent year-on-year in April, though slower than the 11.4 percent surge in the previous month.

Foreign orders grew 13.3 percent from last year, while domestic demand was down by 5.4 percent.

On a monthly basis, machine tool orders plunged 13.8 percent, reversing a 27.8 percent growth in March.

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