China’s manufacturing, services activity drops as zero-Covid policies take their toll
- The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 47.4 in April, down from 49.5 in March – the lowest level since the start of the pandemic
- Official non-manufacturing PMI, which measures business sentiment in the services and construction sectors, dropped to 41.9 from 48.4 in March
Activity in both China’s manufacturing and services sectors fell to an over two-year low, data released on Saturday showed, in the latest sign of the pain the ongoing zero-Covid plan has caused to the world’s second biggest economy.
A reading above 50 indicates production expansion, while a reading below that mark indicates contraction.
The March figure was slightly above the median forecast of a Bloomberg survey of analysts, which had predicted a fall to 47.3.
But the reading still means that China’s factory activities were in the worst contraction since February 2020, when the early impact of the pandemic resulted in a PMI of 35.7.
The official non-manufacturing PMI, which measures business sentiment in the services and construction sectors, tumbled to 41.9 in April from 48.4 in March.