BEIJING, China: As lockdowns continued in Shanghai and other manufacturing hubs to curb COVID-19 outbreaks, China’s manufacturing output fell to a six-month low in April.
Shanghai, China’s most populous city, spent most of April under lockdown, while the capital, Beijing, began mass Covid testing of millions of residents this week.
In April, the monthly purchasing managers’ index released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics fell to 47.4 on a 100-point scale, down from 49.5 in March. A figure below 50 indicate a contracting economy.
China’s factory activities and market demand have also been impacted by domestic COVID-19 outbreaks, said the bureau’s statistician, Zhao Qinghe, adding that some companies have reduced or halted production altogether.
Logistics, as well as the supply of raw materials and components, have also been disrupted.
The northeastern regions of Changchun and Jilin also spent most of April in lockdown, forcing automakers and other factories to shut down, while other smaller Chinese cities have also faced citywide or district lockdowns.
The statistics bureau pointed out that non-manufacturing business activity fell 6.5 percentage points to 41.9, while the service industry’s activity fell to 40, down from 46.7 in the previous month, as air transport, accommodation and catering decreased during the outbreaks.
However, Zhao said the construction industry continued to expand, especially the civil engineering construction sector, which will play a key role in supporting economic recovery.
