Italian manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracts in October, PMI shows

ROME, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Italy's manufacturing activity fell back into contraction in October, a survey showed on Monday, while cost pressures continued to mount. 

• The S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for the euro zone's third-largest economy declined to 49.4 from 50.4 in September, below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction

• A Reuters survey of analysts had pointed to a reading of 50.2

• The manufacturing output indicator fell to 47.3 from 49.1, posting its lowest reading since January

• The subindex for new orders stood at 47.8 from 49.4, below the 50 threshold for a fourth month in a row

• The employment indicator fell to 49.3 from 50.9, indicating lower job levels for the first time in three months

• On the inflation side, input and output prices both accelerated, respectively to four-month and three-month highs, amid ongoing supply chain disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East

• Italy's annual inflation rate jumped to 5.6% in October, data showed on Friday, while its economic growth stagnated in the third quarter

(Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Gavin Jones and Hugh Lawson)