The world’s factory output declined in July amid an accelerating slowdown in China’s economy.
The downturn in factory output raises the prospects for a global economic recession later this year, say analysts.
A Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) covering the European Union showed manufacturing activity contracted in July at the fastest pace since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.
There was considerable weakness in Germany, Europe's largest economy, while France and Italy, the second- and third-largest European economies, also recorded declines in factory output during the month.
In Britain, which is now outside the European Union, factory output contracted in July at the fastest pace in seven months due largely to higher interest rates and fewer new orders.
In Asia, factory declines were recorded in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, highlighting the strain that a slowing Chinese economy is exerting on the region.
In India, growth in manufacturing activity slowed for a second consecutive month.
China's factory output fell to a reading of 49.2 on the PMI index in July, down from 50.5 in June and missing analysts' forecasts of 50.3.
China's economy has struggled coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, impacting the global economy in the process as demand weakens in the nation of 1.4 billion people.
In a recently revised forecast, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that China's economy will grow 5.2% for all of this year after a 3% increase in 2022.
