The Chinese authorities announced through the National Bureau of Statistics that manufacturing activity in the country declined in February to the lowest level recorded so far for this month, at a time when the second economy in the world is witnessing a slowdown due to the spread of the new Corona virus.
Extreme measures were taken to contain the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, including imposing restrictions on movement, “temporary” closure of factories across the country, and imposing a quarantine on Hubei Province (central), which is considered an industrial center and where the virus appeared in December.
The government encouraged companies to gradually resume work at a time when the number of new daily infections has been declining for ten days, and the Purchasing Managers’ Index for February fell to 35.7 points compared to 50.0 in January, according to statistics office figures, which is an indicator that indicates an expansion of activity if it exceeds 50.0 points, and a contraction if it is below this limit. These numbers are lower than the average expectations of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg Financial News Agency, which amounted to 45.0.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, the automotive and specialized equipment sectors are the most affected, and the majority of analysts warn that Chinese economic growth will likely be greatly harmed by the health crisis during the first quarter, and the figures released give an initial glimpse into the extent of the damage that the industrial sector will suffer.