GLOBAL ECONOMY-Asian factory growth outstrips two-speed Europe
By Jonathan Cable and Zhou Xin
LONDON/BEIJING, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Manufacturing in China, India and Russia powered ahead in August while growth slowed in European factories, emphasising a growing divide in the pace of recovery between the rich and emerging worlds.
Between the euro zone's biggest four economies there was strong evidence of diverging fortunes, with the bloc's manufacturing sector overall expanding at its slowest pace since February, surveys showed on Wednesday.
Equivalent figures from the United States, due at 1400 GMT, are expected to show an easing of manufacturing growth, adding to investor unease about a stalling recovery there, a concern the Federal Reserve has openly recognised.
The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI for August dropped to 55.1 from 56.7 in July but nudged up from an earlier flash estimate of 55.0 and marked its 11th month above the 50.0 mark that divides growth from contraction. [EUR/PMIM]
Manufacturing growth in Germany slowed in August although other recent data show Europe's biggest economy is expanding fast. Business in France accelerated but Italy and Spain saw their manufacturing indexes slip backwards.
"We are at a delicate juncture of the global business cycle. Globally there is a slowdown in the trade cycle which first affects the economies which are reliant on that," said Silvio Peruzzo at RBS.
"Just as they were benefitting from the acceleration in Q4 2009 and Q1 2010, they will now be subject to the downturn and this will amplify the divergence we are seeing."
Britain, a major euro zone trading partner, saw growth in its manufacturing sector slow more than expected last month, led by the weakest expansion in new orders for more than a year.
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