Economic Indicators

China’s services sector activity squeezed by Omicron surge – Caixin PMI

2022.04.06 05:16

China's services sector activity squeezed by Omicron surge - Caixin PMI
FILE PHOTO: People dine at a restaurant in Beijing, China October 25, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

BEIJING (Reuters) – Activity in China’s services sector contracted at the steepest pace in two years in March as the local surge in coronavirus cases restricted mobility and weighed on client demand, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday.

The Caixin services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dived to 42.0 in March from 50.2 in February, dropping below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. The reading indicates the sharpest activity decline since the initial onset of the pandemic in February 2020.

The survey, which focuses more on small firms in coastal regions, tallied with the gauge of an official survey, which also showed the deterioration in the services sector.

Analysts say contact-intensive services sectors such as transportation, hotel and catering were hurt the most, clouding the outlook for a much anticipated rebound in consumption this year.

A sub-index for new business reported a second consecutive monthly fall, with the declining pace accelerating to the fastest since March 2020. Firms’ input prices expanded in March after easing to a six-month low in February.

The virus outbreaks and softer demand reduced firms’ appetite for additional staff, leading to a decline in an employment sub-index.

While firms remained generally upbeat about output over the next year, optimism slipped to a 19-month low amid concerns over the pandemic and the economic fallout from the Ukraine war.

Caixin’s March composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, slumped to 43.9 from 50.1 in the previous month, signalling the quickest reduction since the height of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

“Overall, both manufacturing and services activities weakened in March due to the epidemic. Similar to previous COVID outbreaks in China, the services sector was more significantly affected than manufacturing,” said Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group, in a statement accompanying the data release.

“Policymakers should look out for vulnerable groups and enhance support for key industries and small and micro businesses to stabilise market expectations.”

The Caixin PMI is compiled by S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in China.

Source

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 98,166.30 4.38%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,477.54 2.39%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.12%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.28 2.20%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 707.22 3.54%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 196.09 2.18%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.330916 3.48%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.09%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,474.57 2.42%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.914431 2.03%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.256026 1.73%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 40.67 3.74%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 24.65 3.15%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 5.95 5.64%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 4,128.03 2.16%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000023 3.47%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 4.49 0.37%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 97,746.19 4.18%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.311436 0.03%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.385025 3.61%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 7.43 2.57%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 3,479.60 2.45%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 27.98 0.88%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 464.38 0.77%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.54 1.36%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 13.89 0.45%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 108.59 1.62%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 5.72 16.83%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000019 2.21%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,689.20 2.85%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 5.50 1.19%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.999785 0.11%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 372.59 0.50%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.998284 0.22%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 11.23 4.91%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.58 2.12%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.51632 2.79%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.158656 1.42%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.052319 7.09%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 1.25 5.22%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 27.56 1.46%
render-token
Render (RENDER) $ 7.57 1.46%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 510.30 4.20%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 24.94 2.38%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 3.75 0.09%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 193.68 4.22%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.36 0.90%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.10%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.8 0.30%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 5.33 3.25%