Factory activity expanded across Asia last month, although powerhouse China showed some signs of weakening, while in Europe growth rates hit 30-month highs despite contraction in laggards Spain and Greece.

Data due later on Monday from the United States (1500 GMT) is expected to show the index there dipped to a still robust 57.5 from January’s 58.4.

“There is a sense that the Asian upswing may have run into the sand slightly but it was coming from a very strong base so it was anticipated we would see some slowdown. European numbers continue to show more dynamism,” said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank.

Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for the eurozone jumped to 54.2 in February from 52.4 the month before, slightly higher than previously thought, but the Spanish and Greek indexes remained below the 50.0 divide mark between growth and contraction.

It was something of a mixed bag in Asia where factory activity in its main economies expanded, with India and South Korea growing at their fastest pace in around two years but a pair of surveys showed the pace of manufacturing growth in China, the world’s third biggest economy, eased slightly.

“Policymakers are driving with low visibility on the Chinese activity data at the moment,” said Brian Jackson, a strategist with Royal Bank of Canada, adding that the timing of the Chinese New Year holidays complicated interpretation of data.

“So it would be premature to conclude that today’s fall in the headline PMI numbers show a broader easing in the momentum of China’s recovery.” The UK saw growth levels matching January’s 15-year high of 56.6.

Swedish data surprised markets earlier on Monday with news that its economy unexpectedly slid back into recession in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The euro was little moved after the European data but the Australian dollar dipped and copper prices pared their gains after Asia’s releases, which markets took as a sign Chinese demand for metals and commodities might soften.

Exports in the eurozone grew at their fastest rate in three years last month, boosted by the euro being battered near nine-month lows due to worries over heavily indebted smaller eurozone countries such as Greece and Portugal.