China’s services activity falls at second sharpest rate on record in April as COVID-19 curbs halt industry

China’s services sector activity contracted at the second-steepest rate on record in April, as tighter COVID-19 curbs halted the industry, leading to sharper reductions in new business and employment, a private-sector survey showed on Thursday.

A China lockdown index compiled by Goldman Sachs increased by more than 14 points on average in April from March, as the commercial hub of Shanghai went into a city-wide lockdown, with 25 million residents confined to their homes. “Demand was under pressure, external demand deteriorated, supply shrank, supply chains were disrupted, delivery times were prolonged, backlogs of work grew, workers found it difficult to return to their jobs, inflationary pressures lingered, and market confidence remained below the long-term average,” said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.

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