Global factory activity lost momentum in August, just one day after GDP data showed robust manufacturing growth in the first quarter of the current financial year, according to the latest survey of purchasing managers by data firm IHS Markit. The survey (pdf) found that production, delivery, and distribution schedules all experienced substantial delays in August as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains. Many firms reported logistical troubles, product shortages, and a labor crunch that have made it a sellers’ market of the goods factories need, driving up prices. While factory activity remained strong in the euro zone, IHS Markit’s final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 61.4 in August, a fraction below the earlier “flash” estimate of 61.5, and down from 62.8 in July. “Despite the strong PMI figures, we think that lingering supply-side issues and related producer price pressures might take longer to resolve than previously expected, increasing the downside risk to our forecast,” …