Manufacturers across Europe ended 2020 on a high while Asian factory activity expanded moderately thanks to increased demand in China, surveys showed, but the prospect of tougher coronavirus curbs clouded the outlook for the recovery. Despite hopes that vaccination programs being rolled out will eventually quell the virus, a resurgence of infections is forcing many countries to reimpose strict controls on economic activity, possibly hurting large exporters such as China and Germany. “Global manufacturing was still on a roll until the middle of December which is a very good basis for an economic rebound once the current wave of the pandemic subsides,” said Holger Schmieding at Berenberg. “We may have a modest setback in January as renewed lockdowns affect manufacturing but with China remaining fairly strong and the U.S. not showing significant signs of a consumer slowdown the outlook for manufacturing is still good.” Activity in eurozone manufacturing increased at …