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Factory PMIs Ease in Europe, Japan, China and India in October as Input Costs Climb Again

October manufacturing surveys released Monday showed factories in the euro zone, Japan, China and India still expanding but at slightly slower rates, while several reported renewed cost pressure.

Nov 02, 2026 - 07:15

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Manufacturing activity kept expanding across several of the world's largest economies in October, but at a slightly slower pace, according to purchasing managers' index (PMI) surveys published on Monday, November 2, 2026. Final readings for the euro zone, Japan, China and India all came in a little below September's levels while staying above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. Several of the surveys also showed costs rising again for manufacturers.

Euro zone: solid growth, sharper cost pressure

The S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI dipped to 52.7 in October from 52.9 in September, which had been the highest reading since May 2022, Reuters reported. The final figure was above a preliminary estimate of 52.4. Factory output eased to a four-month low of 52.8 from 53.6, though it stayed above its long-run survey average, and manufacturers added staff for a third straight month.

New orders rose at a slower pace even as export orders posted their sharpest increase in more than four and a half years. Six of the eight euro zone countries tracked by the survey recorded growth, with France and Italy the exceptions. Delivery times lengthened to their worst since June, and manufacturers increased purchasing at the fastest rate in nearly four and a half years while building raw material stocks for the first time since December 2022, Reuters said.

Operating costs rose at the fastest rate in five months. "Another solid PMI reading extends the euro zone's best growth spell for manufacturing for over four years," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. He added that with input cost inflation "surging sharply higher again in October," the data "add to pressure on the ECB to hike rates further in the coming months." The European Central Bank held rates last week, and economists polled by Reuters last month expected a hike in December.

Japan: a seven-month low

The S&P Global Japan Manufacturing PMI fell to 53.3 in October from 54.1, its lowest level in seven months but well above the survey's long-run average of 50.6, according to the S&P Global release and investingLive. Output and new orders kept rising on demand tied to semiconductors, but at the slowest rates since March, and export orders also grew more slowly.

Employment growth stayed close to its fastest pace in eight and a half years, and backlogs of work increased. Input price inflation accelerated for the first time in five months on higher oil, raw material and component costs, while output price inflation eased to a six-month low. The release said stocks of purchases rose at the strongest rate in almost four years.

China: private survey holds above 50

The RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI, compiled by S&P Global, registered 52.0 in October compared with 52.1 in September, above a consensus forecast of 51.6, investingLive reported. According to the release, the index has now been above 50 for 11 straight months, the longest such streak since mid-2021. Output grew at the fastest pace since April, total new orders rose for a 17th consecutive month and new export orders increased for a fourth month.

Prices pointed in the other direction. Output charges fell amid reports of intense competition, and average export charges declined for the first time in nearly a year, while input price inflation eased. Business confidence slipped to a nine-month low. The private survey, which leans toward export-oriented firms, contrasts with China's official manufacturing PMI, which fell into contraction territory in October.

India: export orders at a six-month high

The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI slipped to 54.7 in October from 55.1 in September as growth in output and new orders eased, Business Standard reported. New export orders rose at their fastest pace in six months, with companies citing demand from markets including Bangladesh, Canada, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Input cost inflation fell to its lowest level since February, and the rise in selling prices was the weakest in nearly four years. Factory employment increased for a second consecutive month. "Strong international demand pushed growth of new export orders to a six-month high, supporting a robust rise in output," Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said, The Hindu reported. She added that producers "increased input inventories to the greatest extent in eight months."

What comes next

U.S. manufacturing data are due later on Monday, with S&P Global's final U.S. Manufacturing PMI and the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index on the calendar, Stocktwits reported on Yahoo Finance. The releases arrive as oil prices fell more than 4% on Monday on hopes for diplomatic progress between the United States and Iran, after a period of high energy costs that manufacturers in several surveys cited as a source of cost pressure.