Factory output takes hit as demand falls; PMI manufacturing at 46 in July

A further decline in new orders and output signaled weakness in overall demand despite factories again cutting their prices, leading firms to reduce their workforces for a fourth month in a row

India's factory slump deepened in July as renewed lockdown measures to contain surging coronavirus cases weighed on demand and output, raising the chances of a sharper economic contraction, a private business survey showed on Monday.

Asia's third-largest economy, which has the third-highest coronavirus caseload globally, is expected to shrink at its sharpest pace since 1979 this fiscal year, a Reuters poll found last week.

Reinforcing that grim outlook, the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, fell to 46.0 last month from 47.2 in June, below the 50-level separating growth from expansion for a fourth straight month and marking its