China’s manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in December, its biggest drop since early 2020, as the country grapples with a nationwide COVID-19 surge after unexpectedly easing lockdown measures. anti-epidemic measures
BEIJING — China’s manufacturing activity contracted for a third straight month in December, its biggest drop since early 2020, as the country grapples with a nationwide surge in COVID-19 after the unexpected. loosen anti-epidemic measures.
The monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 47.0 from 48.0 in November, according to data released from the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction in activity.
The contraction is the largest since February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic just started.
The weakening comes as China earlier this month abruptly eased COVID-19 restrictions after years of efforts to stamp out the virus. The country of 1.4 billion people is currently facing a nationwide outbreak, and authorities have stopped publishing daily statistics on COVID-19 cases.
Several other sub-indices, including large enterprises, production and demand in the manufacturing industry market also declined compared to November.
Zhao Qinghe, a senior economist at the statistics bureau, said: “Some companies surveyed reported that due to the impact of the epidemic, logistics and transportation manpower were insufficient, and delivery times were delayed. stretched”.
According to data from the bureau, sectors including construction saw expansion in December along with sub-indexes measuring sectors such as air transport, telecommunications and money services. and finance.
The purchasing managers index of China’s non-manufacturing sector also fell to 41.6 in December, down from 46.7 in November.
China is likely to miss its economic growth target of 5.5% this year, with forecasters slashing their annual growth outlook to as low as 3%, the second lowest since at least three years ago. especially in the 1980s.
