INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
February 2020, as the virus swept through major cities and prompted people to stay home and businesses to shut.
The official manufacturing
That was worse than an estimate of 47.8 in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
The non-manufacturing index, which measures activity in the
construction and services sectors, declined to 41.6 from 46.7 in November, lower than the consensus estimate of 45
A reading below 50 indicates contraction, while anything above suggests expansion
Both readings were the lowest level since February 2020.
The services PMI, a sub-index of the non-manufacturing gauge, fell to 39.4 from
The continuous spread of Covid may create more snags for the economy through the first quarter of 2023, with a likely travel rush during the
curbs to prevent the spread of infection depressed economic activity and kept the country isolated from the rest of the world
A persistent property market slump, sluggish consumer demand and waning overseas appetite for Chinese goods contributed to the downturn, and
gross domestic product is likely to expand just 3% in 2022.
High-frequency data for December suggested economic activity was pushed off a
cliff as surging cases led people to stay home and avoid shops, while factory production was capped
release.
Manufacturing PMI gauges measuring output, new orders and employment all contracted in December at a faster pace than the month
February or March after the initial wave has crested
After the likely slow start in the January-to-March period, growth is projected to pick up to 4.8% for the year, according to the median
estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
