LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Global manufacturing activity contracted for the seventh consecutive month in December to a fresh record low, with price pressures tumbling, a survey showed on Friday.
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI, compiled with research and supply management organisations, fell to 33.2 in December, the lowest since the survey began 11 years ago, from 36.5 in November.
That marked the seventh month in a row the index was below the 50.0 point that divides growth from contraction and all major sub-indexes -- output, new orders, input prices and employment -- recorded series lows. "The second half of 2008 has been dreadful for global manufacturing and the sector enters the new year mired in its deepest recession for decades," said David Hensley at JP Morgan. Data released earlier on Friday showed manufacturing activity in the 15-nation euro zone sank to a new low in the survey's 11-year history while British manufacturing hovered near the previous month's 17-year low.
News from the United States was also grim with figures showing manufacturing activity fell to a 28-year low, well below the level expected by economists. The index combines survey data from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia.
(Reporting by Jonathan Cable; Editing by Ron Askew)