China’s factory production plunged at the sharpest pace in 30 years in the first two months of the year as the fast-spreading coronavirus and strict containment measures severely disrupted the world’s second-largest economy.
Report informs, citing Reuters, that industrial output fell by a much larger-than-expected 13.5% in January-February from the same period a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday. That was the weakest reading since January 1990 when Reuters records started, and a sharp reversal of the 6.9% growth in December.
The biggest problem was fixed in trade (retail sales shrank 20.5% on-year) and fixed asset investment (24.5%).
Exports from China dropped 17.2% in January-February.
While officials say the epidemic’s peak in China had passed, analysts warn it could take months before the economy returns to normal. The fast spread of the virus around the world is also sparking fears of a global recession that would dampen demand for Chinese goods.