Italy's manufacturing sector grew at the slowest pace for more than a year in April, a survey showed on Monday, with business hit by supply shortages, long delivery times and slower demand growth.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Italian manufacturing came in at 54.5, down from 55.8 in March but still comfortably above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction and the 22nd straight month of expansion.

The April index level fell slightly short of a median forecast of 55.0 in a Reuters survey of analysts and was the lowest reading since December 2020.

The new orders sub-index dropped to 52.5 from a 54.6.

The knock-on effect of the Ukraine conflict has hit the economic prospects in countries throughout the euro zone.

On Friday, statistics bureau ISTAT's preliminary data showed Italy's economy shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter from the previous three months, with activity hit by the coronavirus, high commodity prices and the war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones and Toby Chopra)