LONDON / TOKYO - Manufacturing activity in Europe suffered a setback last month but Asian factories enjoyed solid momentum, surveys showed.

The downturn in Europe was widespread, with Italy the only big player not to see a fall in its Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) despite manufacturers largely cutting prices.

HCOB's final euro zone manufacturing PMI, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 45.8 in June from May's 47.3. It has been below the 50 mark separating growth from contraction for two years.

Germany's factory sector, which accounts for about a fifth of Europe's biggest economy, experienced a retreat, while in France the manufacturing recession deepened

"What looks like the green shoots of recovery seem to be diminishing. We can't take a recovery for granted," said George Moran at Nomura.

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Germany's factory sector, which accounts for about a fifth of Europe's biggest economy, experienced a retreat, while in France the manufacturing recession deepened.

France's far-right National Rally party scored an historic win in parliamentary elections on Sunday, stoking risks of a crisis in the euro area even as other political parties rushed to build a united front to block its path to power.

In Britain, which holds a national election on Thursday, manufacturing growth slipped in June from May's 22-month high as ongoing disruption to shipping in the Red Sea led to lower demand from overseas customers.

A euro zone index measuring output, which feeds into a composite PMI due on Wednesday that is seen as a good gauge of economic health, sank from May's 49.3 to a six-month low of 46.1, albeit just ahead of the 46.0 flash estimate.

A new orders index in the currency union dropped to 44.4 from 47.3, despite factories cutting prices charged for a fourteenth month.

Weak yen boosts imports costs

But cost pressures weighed on manufacturers in countries like Japan, where a weak yen is boosting the price companies pay for fuel and raw material imports.

In a sign Asia is benefiting from solid global demand, South Korea's factory activity growth quickened in June to the fastest in 26 months on surging new orders, its PMI showed.

Factory activity also expanded in June at a faster pace than in May in Vietnam and Taiwan region, other surveys showed.

"Another strong month of data provides further evidence that global industrial activity and trade are picking up," said Joe Hayes, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, on South Korea's factory activity.

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"Viewed as a bellwether for exports due to its integration in supply chains for key intermediate goods like batteries and semiconductors, South Korean manufacturing output and orders often provide leading signals for trends more broadly."

Japan's factory activity expanded in June, but at a slower pace than in May, as companies struggled with rising costs due to the weak yen.

The final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI was 50.0, on the break-even line, after a brief improvement to 50.4 in May.

A PMI gauging Japanese firms' future output expectations rose to a six-month high thanks to a better medium-term outlook for the car and chip sectors.

READ MORE: Global factory activity stays weak amid eurozone contraction

Activity in India's manufacturing sector rebounded last month as output increased on robust demand, leading to the fastest rate of hiring in over 19 years.