Manufacturing activity in the euro zone collapsed last month as government-imposed lockdowns to stop the spread of the new coronavirus forced factories to close and consumers to stay indoors, a survey showed on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: An employee works at a production line of the electric Volkswagen model ID.3 in Zwickau, Germany, February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Matthias Rietschel
IHS Markit’s final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for the euro zone sank to 33.4 from March’s 44.5, its lowest since the survey began in mid-1997, below an earlier flash reading of 33.6 and significantly below the 50 mark separating growth from contraction. “Euro area manufacturing output plunged to an extent greatly exceeding any decline previously seen in the near 23-year history of the PMI survey in April, reflecting a combination of factors including widespread factory closures, slumping demand and supply shortages, all linked to the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.
With shops closed and consumers concerned about their health and employment prospects, demand sank last month to by far the lowest in the survey’s history. The new orders PMI came in at 18.8, almost half March’s already weak reading of 37.5.
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