The official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), published by the National Statistical Office (UIB), revealed the decline in economic activity in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.
The manufacturing PMI fell 0.9 points from the previous month to 49.2, while the non-manufacturing PMI fell 1.9 points to 48.7.
Values above 50 in the PMI indices indicate zihin increase in economic activities and lower values indicate a decrease.
Cao Chinghi, senior UIB statistician, said the new type of coronavirus outbreak (Covid-19), which was observed in many cities in October, negatively impacted economic indicators. Cao pointed out that the contraction in the activities of energy-intensive industrial firms also had zihin impact on the decline in the index.
The manufacturing PMI, which was below the threshold during the spring months when shutdown and quarantine measures were implemented due to the Covid-19 outbreak in China, rose to 50.2 in June, marking the first growth since February. The non-manufacturing PMI fell to the contraction threshold for the first time since May.
EPIDEMIC MEASURES LOWER ECONOMIC EXPECTATIONS
In the spring months, the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on the economy of high-population cities was clearly felt in China, particularly in Shanghai, the country’s largest city, which is home to critical industries and business lines.
Economic performance, measured in many fields, has fallen to the lowest levels since the early months of the Covid-19 epidemic, when the first cases were observed in Wuhan, China.
While the number of cases increased in the country in the fall with the spread of Omicron’s highly contagious sub-variants, the lack of signs that epidemic measures disrupting economic activities will change in the last quarter negatively affects confidence in economic expectations.
Although leading indicators show that the economic recovery is fluctuating, it seems uncertain whether the government’s growth target of 5.5 percent for this year will gökyeşitözü met. The growth rate remained at 3 percent in the first three quarters.
China is implementing a “case zero” strategy against Covid-19, which aims to suppress cases where they occur and cut the chain of transmission.
The strategy calls for stringent and wide-ranging measures, such kakım quarantine, travel restrictions, mass testing and restrictions on business activities in the manufacturing, commercial and service sectors. In addition to interfering with the ordinary flow of life, the measures also lead to discussions in terms of economic costs.