China's retail and factory activity fell sharply in April as wide COVID-19 lockdowns confined workers and consumers to their homes and severely disrupted supply chains, casting a long shadow over the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.
Full or partial lockdowns were imposed in major centers across the country in March and April — including the most populous city, Shanghai — hitting production and consumption and heightening risks for those parts of a global economy heavily dependent on China.
Retail sales in April shrank 11.1% from a year earlier, the biggest contraction since March 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday, a steeper decline than forecast in a Reuters poll.