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Europe, Asian Factories Under Pressure on China, War in Ukraine

A worker uses a welding torch on an aluminum formwork at a factory in Selangor, Malaysia.

A worker uses a welding torch on an aluminum formwork at a factory in Selangor, Malaysia.

Photographer: Nadirah Zakariya/Bloomberg
Updated on

Key gauges of activity at European and Asian factories remained under pressure in May from China’s economic slowdown and the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

New orders in the euro area fell for the first time since June 2020, with overall output growth picking up marginally, but still staying “sluggish,” according to S&P Global’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index. That trend was also on display in Germany and France, the region’s two biggest economies.