An employee works on a truck production line at a factory in Zhangjiakou in China's northern Hebei province on January 13, 2020.
STR | AFP | Getty Images
China said manufacturing activity in the country expanded slightly in April as lockdowns and movement restrictions to contain the coronavirus began to ease.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index came in at 50.8 for the month of April, as compared to 52.0 in March.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected official manufacturing PMI to come in at 51.0 in April.
PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that level signal contraction.
In February, the official PMI hit a record low of 35.7 as China was hit by the coronavirus outbreak that first emerged from the city of Wuhan in central China. Large-scale lockdowns were implemented to slow the spread of the disease formally known as Covid-19, sending the world's second-largest economy to a standstill.
In the first quarter of 2020, China's GDP contracted by 6.8% from a year ago — the first decline since at least 1992, when official quarterly GDP records started.
But lockdowns in China have started to lift with people going back to work as the number of daily new Covid-19 cases fall.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Thursday that as of April 15, the resumption of work rate for small and medium-sized enterprises was 84% nationwide — up from 71.7% on March 24.
Despite production coming back online, demand for Chinese products is now expected to be dented by a demand slump from the rest of the world due to the global spread of the coronavirus that has sparked concerns about a global recession.
Chinese authorities have rolled out measures to support the economy.
Earlier in April, the People's Bank of China cut benchmark lending rates.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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