Official Data: China's manufacturing activities contracted sharply in March

The latest data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed a steep contraction in the country’s manufacturing activities in the month of March as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the economic fallout from the Ukraine war. 

The official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 49.5 points, down from 50.2 in February. 

The movement restrictions also cast negative effects on the demand for services and property sales, pushing the non-manufacturing PMI to 48.4 in March, from 51.6 in the previous month.