US-China trade war hits global manufacturing
london/hong kong — Factory activity weakened across much of Europe and Asia in December as the US-led trade war and a slowdown in demand hit production in many economies, offering little reason for optimism as the new year begins.
A series of purchasing managers’ indexes for December released on Wednesday mostly showed declines or slowdowns in manufacturing activity across the globe.
Eurozone manufacturing activity barely expanded at the end of 2018, providing disappointing reading for European Central Bank policymakers, just after they ended their €2.6 trillion assetpurchase scheme.
Earlier PMI surveys showed Italy remained in contraction territory and was joined by France, where data showed a first deterioration in operating conditions for 27 months.
Manufacturing growth in both Germany and Spain was modest, easing to the weakest in around two-and-a-half years.
British factories, however, ramped up stockpiling as they prepared for possible border delays when Britain leaves the European Union in less than three months’ time. The UK manufacturing PMI rose to a six-month high, stronger than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.
In China, the Caixin/IHS Markit PMI slipped into contraction territory for the first time in 19 months, broadly tracking an official survey released on Monday. China’s weakness spilled over to other Asian economies. Malaysian manufacturing slowed to its weakest pace of expansion since the survey began in 2012, and Taiwan fell to its lowest since September 2015. —