 "People's Bank of China")
China’s services activity contracted in September for the first time in four months as Covid lockdowns in major cities such as Chengdu dampened consumer spending.
The Caixin services purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.3 last month from 55 in August, S&P Global said in a statement Saturday, far lower than the 54.4 median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. A reading below 50 signals a contraction in activity.
The data is further evidence of the toll China’s Covid Zero strategy is taking on consumer spending and the economy. Shops, restaurants and cinemas were shut and residents confined to their
