The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMIT fell to 52.3 in June, down from 53.0 in May and well below February’s near-series record high. The latest reading was the weakest since July 2009, the first month of the current two-year period of recovery.

Among the major industrial regions, PMIs signalled slower rates of expansion in the Eurozone, Japan, China and the UK. The US PMI ticked slightly higher from May’s 20-month low, but remained well below the highs reached earlier in the year.

Within the euro area, PMIs fell in almost all of the nations for which data are collected. The exception was Greece which, nevertheless, still recorded the steepest rate of contraction.

Expansions were seen in Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands, but rates of increase were among the weakest since the recoveries began in these countries. Italy, Spain and Ireland saw deteriorations in business conditions.

Manufacturing production increased for the twenty-fifth consecutive month in June, although the rate of expansion was the weakest since June 2009 (the first month of that period of sustained expansion). The average output index reading in Q2 2011 (53.6) was well below that registered in the opening quarter (58.2). The slowdown in output growth mainly reflected a softening trend in new order inflows.

International trade volumes increased at the slowest pace of the current two-year run of expansion. Emerging markets reported a reduction in new export orders, while developed markets continued to report growth.

Employment rose in the global manufacturing sector for the nineteenth month in a row during June. The pace of jobs growth eased further from February’s survey-record high to an eight-month low, but remained above the long-run average. Job creation was strongest in the US, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Employment growth eased sharply in the UK, while moderate reductions were signalled for Japan, China, India, Brazil and Russia. June saw a further marked easing in the rate of input price inflation, in part reflecting recent falls in the cost of a number of commodities. Prices rose at the slowest pace for ten months. Moreover, at 60.8, the Global Manufacturing Input Prices Index is over 15 points below February’s two-and-a-half year high.

Input price inflation eased in almost all of the nations for which June data were collected. The extent of the easing was especially marked in Denmark, France and the UK. Cost inflation hit a 10- month low in the US and slowed sharply to a modest pace in China. Only Japan, India, Russia and Turkey reported faster price increases. Costs fell in Taiwan for the first time in over two years and also in South Africa.

Global Manufacturing PMIT Summary

50 = no change on previous month.

May Jun Change Summary, rate of change

Global PMI     53.0 52.3 - Expanding, slower rate

Output53.4 52.6 - Expanding, slower rate

New Orders51.9 50.9 - Expanding, slower rate

Input Prices 66.7 60.8 - Rising, slower rate

Employment53.6 53.4 - Rising, slower rate