LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Global manufacturing activity contracted for the sixth consecutive month in November, falling to a record low, but easing price pressures will provide some relief to central banks, a survey showed on Monday. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI, compiled with research and supply management organisations, fell to 36.4 in November, the lowest since the survey began in January 1998, from 41.0 in October. The release marks the sixth month in a row the index was below the 50.0 mark that divides growth from contraction and JP Morgan said almost all of the national manufacturing PMIs fell to record lows. "The November PMIs confirm that global manufacturing has fallen into a deep and broad-based recession during H2 2008. The only positive to come from the surveys was the marked retreat in average purchasing costs," said David Hensley, a director at JP Morgan. As oil and raw material prices retreat sharply, the fall in price pressures to a survey low will give central banks room to slash interest rates further to boost economies sliding into recession. Production, new orders and employment also slumped to new survey lows. Data released earlier on Monday showed manufacturing in the 15-nation euro zone slumped to its lowest level in the survey's 11-year history while British manufacturing shrank at a record pace to a 16-year low. News from the United States was also dire with figures showing manufacturing fell in November to its weakest since the 1981-1982 recession as the financial crisis continued to ravish the world's largest economy. The index combines survey data from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia. (Reporting by Jonathan Cable; editing by Stephen Nisbet)

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