Overview

• US manufacturing contracted for the third month in May, with the ISM PMI falling to 48.5 and supplier delivery times lengthening under tariff-related bottlenecks.
• Asia’s factories continued to shrink, with South Korea’s PMI at 47.7 marking a five-year low in new orders and Japan’s PMI at 49.4 logging a softer contraction, while China’s official PMI showed a second straight month of decline as US tariffs and supply chain disruptions weighed on activity.
• Euro zone downturn eased further as the HCOB euro zone PMI rose to 49.4 in May, driven by rebounds in Spain (50.5) and Greece (53.2) and France’s near-stabilisation at 49.8.
• India bucked the global slowdown with its manufacturing PMI at 57.6 in May, supported by strong domestic and export order growth despite a moderation from April’s pace.
• Canada’s and the UK’s PMIs remained below the 50 threshold as firms in both countries cited US tariffs, port congestion, delayed deliveries and recent tax increases as key headwinds.