LONDON/TOKYO — Global manufacturing activity remained solid in October, but factories are increasingly showing strain from rising energy costs while supply-chain disruptions squeezed margins, surveys showed on Monday, Reuters reported. The final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) readings point to growing pain for export-led economies as prolonged conflict in the Middle East keeps fuel and food prices high, hitting consumption and business confidence.

Source: Reuters, Nov 2

S&P Global's Eurozone Manufacturing PMI eased to 52.7 last month from 52.9 in September — September's reading was the highest since May 2022 — but the final figure came in above a preliminary estimate of 52.4. Readings above 50.0 indicate growth in activity, which suggests manufacturers are holding up despite tariffs, conflicts and surging energy costs, even as rising input prices add to pressure on the European Central Bank to raise interest rates again.

Source: Reuters, Nov 2

“October's final manufacturing PMIs confirmed the resilience of the euro zone's industrial sector,” said Leo Barincou at Oxford Economics, in comments carried by Reuters. “Meanwhile, price pressures continue to intensify as robust demand meets constrained supply, with euro zone input prices rising at their fastest pace since May and output prices also increasing rapidly, reinforcing our view inflationary pressures will remain elevated over the coming months.”

Source: Reuters, Nov 2

Germany grows, France slips back, Britain's output jumps

Germany's manufacturing industry expanded solidly in October, but France's slipped back into contraction: the S&P Global France Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in October from 50.6 in September, as new orders fell at the fastest rate since July 2025 and price pressures rose, a separate Reuters report on the French survey said. British manufacturers, meanwhile, started the final quarter of 2026 with the strongest output growth in more than two years, although fast-rising costs may worry the Bank of England, which looks set to raise interest rates this week.

Source: Reuters, Nov 2

Asia still grows — but more slowly

Factory activity across Asia continued to expand in October, but growth slowed in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the surveys showed, indicating that the drag from the US-Israeli war with Iran may be offsetting robust global demand for chips and AI-related goods. The RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI, compiled by S&P Global, stood at 52.0 in October, just below September's 52.1. Japan's PMI eased, marking the slowest expansion in seven months as output and new orders lost momentum, while South Korean factory activity grew at the slowest pace in eight months on weaker output and demand. Taiwan's PMI continued to show solid growth, albeit slowing from the previous month. In India, manufacturing growth slowed as domestic demand and hiring weakened, although a surge in export orders helped cushion the blow, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Nov 2

China's private factory gauge was reported separately by Awaaz Punjab on Sunday: it stayed in growth at 52.0 even as the official Chinese survey slumped into contraction. Read the China PMI report

“Strong chip and AI demand had masked soft spots in Asian and global economies. But that's becoming hard to sustain with the Middle East war dragging on for so long, pushing up fuel and food prices,” said Toru Nishihama, chief emerging market economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. “High inflation is hurting Asian consumption. Intensifying price competition from China is also weighing on rival exporters like Japan and South Korea,” he said.

Source: Reuters, Nov 2

What happens next

Preliminary data on Wednesday is expected to show eurozone inflation nudged up to 4.0% in October, according to a Reuters poll, keeping pressure on the ECB — which left rates on hold last week — ahead of the December decision economists expect to bring another hike. In Britain, the Bank of England's rate decision lands this week. For export-led economies in Asia, the next test is whether chip and AI demand can keep offsetting the fuel and food price pressure the Middle East conflict is feeding into factory costs.