Massive monetary stimulus money from Chinese and European central banks has done little to spur factory growth, moving a debate over more easing up the agenda and raising doubts over whether U.S. interest rates will rise this year.
A crop of industry surveys out on Monday pointed to October as another subdued month. Activity in China's colossal factory sector shrank as global demand stuttered while euro zone factories again resorted to slashing prices to drum up trade.
More than half a year after the ECB started pumping in 60 billion euros a month of new money through its quantitative easing program, the currency bloc's relatively downbeat manufacturing survey may make disappointing reading for policymakers.
The central bank has failed to lift inflation anywhere near its target of just below 2%, and data on Friday showed prices were unchanged last month, heaping more pressure on the bank to act.
It was already almost certain the ECB would ease monetary policy in December, increasing or extending its stimulus program and further cutting the deposit rate, a Reuters poll of economists taken ahead of the inflation data found.
Beijing has also rolled out a raft of support steps to avert a sharper slowdown, including cutting interest rates six times in the past year, but the stimulus has been slower to take effect than in the past.
The pedestrian surveys will focus attention on the U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) measure of manufacturing due later Monday which is forecast to have flatlined in October.
Having taken a rain check on a long-speculated rate rise in September, the Federal Reserve last month surprised markets by downplaying global growth worries while opening the door wide to a hike in December.
Stocks fell in Europe and Asia on Monday after the further evidence of economic slowdown in China.
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