LONDON/SINGAPORE, May 2 (Reuters) – Euro zone factories sank further into decline last month but manufacturers in Asia upped their tempo to meet growing demand from the United States and China, exposing a widening gulf between Europe and the rest of the world.

Worryingly for European policymakers, a downturn that is hitting Italy and Spain hard, now appears to be taking root among core members France and Germany.

The data hit the euro and dented optimism following a similar survey on Tuesday that showed the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing picked up much more than expected.

“The numbers coming out of the euro zone give no cause for comfort. The China economy is holding up, but the debt crisis in Europe is weighing on growth and its rippling across the world,” said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank.

“Global concerns on growth are there, despite stellar numbers from the United States.”

Markit’s Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 45.9 last month from 47.7 in March, slightly below a preliminary reading and marking its lowest reading since June 2009.

It has languished the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction for nine months.

SINGAPORE, May 2 (Reuters) – Manufacturers in Asia upped their tempo in April to meet growing demand from overseas, in a sign that while the road to recovery might be bumpy, the global economy remains on track and the worst has probably passed for China.

Optimism about a global rebound was boosted on Tuesday by a survey showing the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing picked up last month, although debt-mired Europe remains a concern with more dismal numbers expected from the euro zone later.

An index of China’s manufacturing offered more evidence on Wednesday that the world’s second-biggest economy bottomed out in the first quarter of the year, while the pace of factory sector growth in emerging rival India ticked up.

The HSBC China PMI, which concentrates mainly on privately owned firms, remained below the 50 threshold that divides growth from contraction, for the six month running. But it improved to 49.3 in April from 48.3 in March, hinting that the rate of deterioration had slowed, and was stronger than the preliminary “flash” estimate released last week.

“The upward revision to April’s final PMI reading, compared to the flash estimate, confirms that the pace of China’s slowdown has stabilized,” said Hongbin Qu, chief economist for China & co-Head of Asian economic research at HSBC.

The reading from the HSBC index was weaker than China’s official PMI, which soared to a 13-month high of 53.3 in April, highlighting a continued divergence between China’s larger, predominantly state-owned enterprises that dominate the official data and the smaller, private firms that struggle to get credit.

HSBC’s Qu said easing of monetary conditions in China was beginning to take effect and, as the inflation outlook softened, additional easing was likely in the pipeline. That would push year-on-year GDP growth above 8.5 percent in the second half of 2012.

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The global economy is set to expand by a modest 3.3 percent this year as a still-smouldering euro zone debt crisis and a relatively slow U.S. recovery continue to leave Asia as the main driver of growth, Reuters polls showed on Thursday.

Asian economies, as well as Latin America, are expected to pick up the pace later this year, driven by monetary stimulus after a soft patch – a boost Western policymakers are increasingly unable to provide.

The U.S. economy has not taken off in the way many had hoped and the outlook there remains relatively subdued, although still much better than most of its Western peers.

“We think it is increasingly clear that the U.S. is on a fairly self-sustaining recovery and is reasonably – but not completely immune – from what is happening in the euro zone,” said Andrew Kenningham, senior global economist at Capital Economics.

“In Europe, it’s really a very different story. We expect recession this year, but we find it difficult to see why the euro zone would recover next year.”

The polls of more than 700 economists across the world, taken in the past few days in the run up to this week’s meeting of G20 finance ministers, predicted 3.3 percent global growth this year, unchanged from a poll taken three months ago.

That would mark a slowdown from the International Monetary Fund’s 3.9 percent estimate for 2011 and is slightly less optimistic than their forecast for 3.5 percent growth this year.

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The global economy is set to expand by a modest 3.3 percent this year as a still-smoldering euro zone debt crisis and a relatively slow U.S. recovery continue to leave Asia as the main driver of growth, Reuters polls showed on Thursday.

Asian economies, as well as Latin America, are expected to pick up the pace later this year, driven by monetary stimulus after a soft patch – a boost Western policymakers are increasingly unable to provide. <ECILT/LTAM>

The U.S. economy has not taken off in the way many had hoped and the outlook there remains relatively subdued, although still much better than most of its Western peers.

“We think it is increasingly clear that the U.S. is on a fairly self-sustaining recovery and is reasonably – but not completely immune – from what is happening in the euro zone,” said Andrew Kenningham, senior global economist at Capital Economics.

“In Europe, it’s really a very different story. We expect recession this year, but we find it difficult to see why the euro zone would recover next year.”

The polls of more than 700 economists across the world, taken in the past few days in the run up to this week’s meeting of G20 finance ministers, predicted 3.3 percent global growth this year, unchanged from a poll taken three months ago.

That would mark a slowdown from the International Monetary Fund’s 3.9 percent estimate for 2011 and is slightly less optimistic than their forecast for 3.5 percent growth this year.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asia’s economic growth probably troughed in the first quarter but a bounce-back may be muted, a Reuters poll showed. Although the fear factor has faded over Europe’s debt crisis and a slowing U.S. economy, both will still be a drag on growth rates in the region.

Respondents in a quarterly survey of over 250 economists refrained from slashing growth forecasts for the first time in a year, a sign that the outlook for Asia is certainly upbeat even though it may be too early to celebrate.

“Confidence is slowly crawling back in”, said Frederic Neumann, co-head Asian economics research at HSBC.

“We have seen in China much more aggressive action been taken to support growth, China clearly remains the regional engine, plus the financial risks we saw emanating from Europe last year have also started to dissipate.”

While powerhouses China and India will not have the double-digit growth seen before the global financial crisis, both economies will rebound in 2013, supported by policy easing, robust domestic demand, reviving exports and a stabilisation in the long-drawn European debt crisis.

(Also read: India econ to recover, more rate cuts seen: Reuters Poll, click here)

“The first quarter has seen the bottom in growth, things are stabilising, and will possibly re-accelerate over the next few quarters with the region likely to hit its full stride in the second half of the year,” added Neumann.

SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) – Asia’s economic growth probably troughed in the first quarter but a bounce-back may be muted, a Reuters poll showed.

Although the fear factor has faded over Europe’s debt crisis and a slowing U.S. economy, both will still be a drag on growth rates in the region.

Respondents in a quarterly survey of over 250 economists refrained from slashing growth forecasts for the first time in a year, a sign that the outlook for Asia is certainly upbeat even though it may be too early to celebrate.

“Confidence is slowly crawling back in”, said Frederic Neumann, co-head Asian economics research at HSBC.

“We have seen in China much more aggressive action been taken to support growth, China clearly remains the regional engine, plus the financial risks we saw emanating from Europe last year have also started to dissipate.”

While powerhouses China and India will not have the double-digit growth seen before the global financial crisis, both economies will rebound in 2013, supported by policy easing, robust domestic demand, reviving exports and a stabilisation in the long-drawn European debt crisis.

“The first quarter has seen the bottom in growth, things are stabilising, and will possibly re-accelerate over the next few quarters with the region likely to hit its full stride in the second half of the year,” added Neumann.

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – An eighth straight month of contraction in the euro zone’s manufacturing sector eclipsed brighter news from Asia on Monday, dimming chances of a strong rebound in the global economy.

The downturn in Europe’s periphery members has spread to the core countries of Germany and France, according to purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) for March. The outlook is grim as new orders fell across the region for the tenth month.

But while still far from robust, factory activity strengthened in China, South Korea and Taiwan, three of the Asia’s leading exporters, as both export and domestic demand firmed.

“We are probably through the weakest for the global backdrop in terms of the major economies already, but they are now coming out at different paces,” said Jeavon Lolay, head of global research at Lloyds Banking Group.

“Asia is going to lead the global economy with the United States not too far behind, leading the developed economies, but Europe will be the laggard.”.

Data due later should show conditions improved in the United States, the world’s biggest economy. The Institute of Supply Management manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is expected to rebound slightly to 53.0 in March from February’s 52.4.

Markit’s Eurozone Manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.7 last month from 49.0 in February, in line with a preliminary reading. It has now been below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction since August.

By Anooja Debnath

(Reuters) – Asia’s manufacturers stepped up the pace in March to fill an influx of new orders as Europe’s debt crisis subsided and U.S. growth picked up, dispelling some of the gloom that had shrouded the global economy.

While still far from robust, factory activity strengthened in China, South Korea and Taiwan, three of the region’s leading exporters. Both export and domestic demand firmed.

But the figures, released on Sunday and Monday, still suggested economic growth slowed in the first quarter of 2012. China appeared to be headed for its weakest quarter since early 2009, at the depths of the global financial crisis.

Data due later on Monday is expected to show Europe’s factories stayed quiet as the region slides into a recession, while U.S. figures may reflect a modest uptick.

China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) hit an 11-month high with a stronger-than-expected reading of 53.1 for March.

But a separate private survey by HSBC, which focuses more on smaller factories than the large state-owned enterprises captured in the official data, painted a gloomier picture. The index stayed below the 50 mark separating growth from contraction, coming in at 48.3 in March.

SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) – After a spectacular rally in the first few weeks of 2012, Asian currencies are set for a volatile ride the rest of this year as they brace for the possibility of massive additional stimulus in the developed economies, a Reuters poll shows.

In a best-case scenario, that excess cash with banks in the United States and Europe will spur a recovery in these economies and stimulate global demand, making it far easier for Asia to manage capital flows against a backdrop of strong growth and rising prices.

But a major risk is that this wave of cheap money fails to reflate the faltering U.S. and European economies and merely puts more cash into the hands of speculators, leaving the emerging world with an unpleasant combination of weak exports, rising commodity prices and heavy capital inflows.

It’s a risk currency analysts aren’t taking lightly. The poll of 55 economists and strategists suggests the regional currencies may have peaked or are at best poised for a bit more appreciation against the dollar.

It estimates the Indian rupee, Asia’s worst performer for a volatile ride the rest of this year as they brace for the possibility of massive additional stimulus in the developed economies, a Reuters poll shows.

In a best-case scenario, that excess cash with banks in the United States and Europe will spur a recovery in these economies and stimulate global demand, making it far easier for Asia to manage capital flows against a backdrop of strong growth and rising prices.

But a major risk is that this wave of cheap money fails to reflate the faltering in 2011 and a currency with the most challenging balance-of-payments fundamentals, would end the year flat after its 7 percent gain since mid-December.

SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Crumbling demand from Europe restrained Asia’s export-powered economies in January, data released on Wednesday showed, putting pressure on policymakers to shore up domestic growth to counter the drag from abroad.

China’s factory activity picked up modestly, the government’s purchasing managers’ index showed, but new export orders fell sharply from December and the country’s finance minister said exporters faced “increasing difficulties.”

The official PMI for China inched up to 50.5 in January from the previous reading of 50.3, barely making it above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction, as the world’s second-largest economy feels the chills from Europe’s debt troubles.

“As the external demand is now fading clearly, Chinese exporters are facing increasing difficulties,” China’s Finance Minister Xie Xuren said in remarks on Wednesday.

Asia’s export-reliant countries remain on the edge as the euro zone muddles through a messy sovereign debt crisis that threatens to tip the region into a recession. Europe is the biggest trading partner for many Asian economies, including China.

Data due later on Wednesday is expected to show the euro zone’s factory activity contracted in January for a sixth straight month. A similar poll on U.S. factory activity is expected to show manufacturing picked up in January.

In South Korea, exports posted a shocking 6.6 percent drop from a year earlier in January, far worse than the 0.7 percent increase that economists polled by Reuters had predicted. Its exports to the European Union tumbled 45 percent in the first 20 days compared with the same period a year earlier.