(MENAFN) Factories across Asia and the euro zone reported a general loss of momentum last month that speaks volumes about the need for more policy stimulus on top of Japan's latest efforts to ignite growth, Gulf Daily News reported.

US manufacturing improved far more rapidly than estimated in October, fully recovering from the previous month's deceleration to return to its fastest growth rate in three and a half years as new orders rebounded sharply.

A second month of price-cutting in the euro zone, alongside only tepid expansion in Germany - the bloc's growth engine - and contractions in France and Italy, will be disconcerting for the European Central Bank as it faces a real risk of deflation.