China’s economic activity slowed in March, according to the official PMI, as extended lockdowns were imposed to prevent the spread of Omicron mutations.
Both the manufacturing index and other indices fell into recession in March.
China’s official manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in March from 50.2 in February, as expected by economists.
The index for factory production fell to 48.8 points in March from 50.4 points in February.
Production was suspended or reduced due to the increase in coronavirus cases, which later affected the operations and production of processing companies in the same supply chain, said statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Many Chinese processing centers, including Shenzhen, Shanghai and Changchun, implemented extensive lockdowns this month as cases rose to their highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020.
Also, market demand, especially export orders, decreased amid increased geopolitical intensity.
The indicator that measures the total new orders fell to a recession level, at 49.5 points from 50.7 points in February.
The sub-index for new export orders fell even further to a recession level, at 47.2 points in March from 49 points in February.
The official non-manufacturing PMI, which includes both services and manufacturing in China, was also announced.
Non-manufacturing PMI fell to 48.4 points in March from 51.6 points in February.
The index measuring services activity fell to 46.7 points this month from 50.5 points in February.
Source: Capital
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