London/Tokyo — Manufacturers across Europe ended 2020 on a high while Asian factory activity expanded moderately thanks to robust demand in regional giant China, surveys showed, but the prospect of tougher coronavirus curbs clouded the outlook for the recovery.

Despite hopes that vaccination programmes 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...

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