Greek factory activity expanded steadily in April while growth in output and new orders softened somewhat and cost inflation picked up due to supply chain delays, a survey showed on Wednesday.

S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about 10% of Greece's economy, dropped to 55.2 in April from 56.9 in March.

However, it was the 14th month in a row that the reading was above the 50 level denoting growth in activity and the second-fastest expansion since September 2021, as Greece has outperformed many other European economies.

Ongoing disruptions to supply routes through the Red Sea delayed delivery of goods, hampering efforts to build stocks and pushing up import costs.

With prices for raw materials and fuel picking up, cost inflation rose at the fastest pace in more than a year, and firms passed on that increase to consumers, with output prices also picking up from March.

Production growth slowed but was still strong mainly thanks to more robust demand from foreign clients in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The pace of job creation was the strongest in more than two years, with firms using more part-time workers to address higher production requirements.

Expectations over output for the year ahead improved on the back of higher investment in new product ranges and marketing.

"Our latest forecast expects industrial production to rise 3.4% on the year in 2024," said Sian Jones, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Hugh Lawson)