LONDON/TOKYO — Global factory activity slowed in March as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine tightened supply chain bottlenecks, dampened demand and whacked confidence, while soaring energy costs drove a broader surge in prices, surveys showed on Friday.
“The ever-surging cost of power, freight delays and diversions, topped by new COVID-19 lockdowns in China, have all contributed to increased costs and raw material shortages — leaving European manufacturers faced with unprecedented disruption.” Confidence indicators in the region have plummeted and the euro zone future output PMI plunged to its lowest reading since May 2020.
The outcome was in line with Thursday’s official data showing activity in Chinese manufacturing and services simultaneously contracted for the first time since the height of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Factory activity also slowed in Taiwan and Vietnam, and contracted in Malaysia, as the region felt the pain from rising raw material prices, other PMIs released on Friday showed.
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