China’s manufacturing activity contracted at a steeper pace in December as the country suddenly reversed its Covid Zero policy and the virus swept through major cities, causing people to stay home and businesses to shut.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 47 this month from November’s 48, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday. 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