BEIJING, Feb 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – China’s manufacturing activity fell to
its lowest level on record in February as the deadly coronavirus epidemic
hammered the world’s second-largest economy, official data showed Saturday.
Authorities have taken drastic steps to contain the virus, curbing the
movement of people, temporarily closing factories across the country and
quarantining central Hubei province, a key industrial region where the
epidemic first appeared.
The government has encouraged companies to progressively return to work as
the number of new cases has been dropping in the past 10 days.
Analysts have warned that China’s economic growth will likely take a major
hit in the first quarter, and Saturday’s data was the first glimpse at the
damage the virus has caused to industries across the country.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key gauge of activity in China’s
factories, was at 35.7 points in February, well below the 50-point mark that
separates growth and contraction every month.
This was down from 50 points in January.
It was well below expectations of a smaller contraction, at 45.0, according
to a Bloomberg poll of analysts.
“Although the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic has caused a larger impact
on production and operations of Chinese enterprises… currently the epidemic
has come under initial containment, and the negative impact on production is
gradually weakening,” the National Bureau of Statistics said.
The auto and specialised equipment industries were hit particularly hard,
the NBS added.