Italy June manufacturing growth slowest for two years -PMI

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's manufacturing sector grew at the slowest pace in two years in June, a survey showed on Friday, as firms reported weak demand and increasingly downbeat expectations.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Italian manufacturing came in at 50.9, down from 51.9 in May and registering the lowest reading since June 2020.

The index fell for a fourth consecutive month as manufacturing in the euro zone's third largest economy is hit by high input costs and uncertainty linked to the war in Ukraine.

It was still slightly above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction - a 24th straight month of expansion, and beat the median forecast of 50.5 in a Reuters survey of 15 analysts.

The new orders sub-index, however, dropped to 43.9 from 47.4, well below the key 50 threshold and posting the seventh straight decline.

The sub-index on firms' future expectations hit its lowest level since March 2020, at the start of Italy's COVID-19 outbreak.

The knock-on effect of the Ukraine conflict has hit the economic prospects of countries throughout the euro zone, and Italy's economy grew just 0.1% in the first quarter from the previous three months.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Susan Fenton)