LONDON (Reuters) - Global manufacturing growth stalled last month as new orders barely accelerated, forcing factories to run down backlogs and cut back on staffing levels, a survey showed on Wednesday.
JPMorgan's Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), produced with Markit, came in at 50.0 last month, right on the level that separates growth from contraction. It was 50.1 in April.
"The May PMI data suggest that the global manufacturing sector remains in a low gear. Indices for output, new orders and the headline PMI were all at, or barely above, the stagnation mark," David Hensley, a director at JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) said.
Firms increased their prices again after raising them in April for the first time since July 2015. However, that appears to have dented demand for their goods as the new orders sub-index dipped and was only just above the breakeven mark.
The global PMI combines survey data from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia.