Chinese manufacturing activity slumped to a record low in February as the coronavirus outbreak temporarily shuttered plants and factories and travel restrictions impacted the supply of labor. The official government purchasing manager’s index ((PMI)) fell to 35.7, down from a neutral 50.0, while the private Caixin PMI posted a 40.3, also an all-time low in the manufacturing gauge’s 16-year history.
What this seems to suggest is that the epidemic has had an even bigger impact on China’s economy than any other crisis of the past decade and a half, including the global financial crisis. The