Activity in Chinese manufacturing and services simultaneously contracted in March for the first time since the height of the country's Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, adding to the urgency for more policy intervention to stabilize the economy
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.5 from 50.2 in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, while the non-manufacturing PMI eased to 48.4 from 51.6 in February. The last time both PMI indexes simultaneously were below the 50-point mark that separates contraction from growth was in February 2020, when authorities were racing to arrest the spread of the coronavirus, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
"Due to the epidemic outbreaks, some companies in some areas temporarily reduced production or stopped production, which also affected the normal production and operation of both upstream and downstream companies," Zhao said.Traders sleep by their desks as China's financial hub locks downSome companies also saw the cancellation or reduction of overseas orders due to geopolitical uncertainties, Zhao said.
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