China’s Economic Activity at Slowest Since 2020 as Covid Spreads

(Bloomberg) — China’s abrupt reversal of its Covid Zero policy pushed economic activity — its service sector in particular — to the slowest pace since February 2020, as the virus swept through major cities and prompted 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.