Australia May PMI declines 0.7 pts to 47.7% (by Sarah Turner)

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australian manufacturing declined 0.7 points to 47.7 in May, according to a survey released Wednesday by Australian Industry Group - PwC. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Weak domestic demand, cheap imports and the strong Australian dollar contributed to the poor performance of manufacturing in the month, the survey said. Nine out of 12 sectors contracted in May, the survey said.

China's official manufacturing index slips in May (by Michael Kitchen)

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- China's manufacturing activity rose at a slower pace in May, according to reported results Wednesday from the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing's Purchasing Managers Index. The result of 52.0 marked a slowing from April's 52.9 result and was below the median forecast of 52.2 in a Reuters survey of economists. However, the index remained above the 50 mark, indicating activity was still expanding. The closely watched input-price sub-index slipped to 60.3 from 66.2, according to reported results, suggesting an easing in wholesale inflation. A private version of the China PMI was due out from HSBC later in the day.

China factory activity hits 10-month low: HSBC PMI (by Michael Kitchen)

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A privately compiled version of the China Purchasing Managers' Index slipped to a 10-month low of 51.6 in May from April's reading of 51.8. HSBC said its PMI survey, compiled by Markit and released Wednesday, "pointed to only modest growth of China's manufacturing sector, as both output and new orders rose at marginally slower rates." It also said input-cost inflation slowed to a nine-month low for the month, "but remained strong nonetheless." An official Chinese version of the PMI, released earlier Wednesday, printed at 52.0, slowing from 52.9 in April.

Euro-zone PMI falls to a seven-month low (by Robert Daniel)

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- An index benchmarking euro-zone manufacturing firms fell to a seven-month low in May. The final euro-zone manufacturing-purchasing-managers index, compiled by the London data provider Markit, fell to 54.6 for last month from 58 in April. The initial, or flash, estimate for the May figure had been 54.8. The decline in the index was the sharpest since November 2008, Markit said, "as manufacturers reported slower rates of increase in output, new orders, employment and inventory accumulation." The report said that in all the countries covered, the purchasing-managers indexes "signaled a broad-based slowdown in the pace of recovery, with headline [indexes] retreating from their April levels."

U.K. manufacturing PMI falls to 20-month low (by Simon Kennedy)

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K. manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to a 20-month low of 52.1 in May from a downwardly revised 54.4 in April, due to weaker trends in both production and orders. The survey by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply found that the sharpest contraction in both production and new orders was in consumer goods, reflecting the weakness of the domestic market. "The UK PMI suggests that manufacturing has moved from rapid expansion to near-stagnation," said Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit. "On the plus side, job creation held up comparatively well in May, while inflation of input costs and factory gate prices moderated," he added.