Global economy: U.S. recession fears darken outlook for Japan, global factories

TOKYO, June 23 (Reuters) – Japan’s factory activity growth slowed to a four-month low in June as China’s COVID-19 curbs disrupted supply chains, while many other economies in Asia were also facing headwinds amid growing risks to the outlook from a potential U.S. recession.

Australia’s manufacturing activity held steady this month, data showed on Thursday which, together with Japan’s figures, come ahead of a string of European and U.S. purchasing managers’ index (PMI) surveys due out later in the day.

The readings will be closely scrutinised as financial markets fret over sharp interest rises by the Federal Reserve, and further aggressive tightening planned over coming months, which have substantially raised the risk of a U.S. recession.

“The global macroeconomic outlook has deteriorated materially since end-2021,” said Fitch Ratings, which slashed this year’s global growth…