Asia's factory activity was ravaged in April, business surveys showed on Monday, and the outlook dimmed further as government restrictions on movement to contain the coronavirus outbreak froze global production and slashed demand.
SYDNEY - Asia’s factory activity was ravaged in April, business surveys showed on Monday, and the outlook dimmed further as government restrictions on movement to contain the coronavirus outbreak froze global production and slashed demand.
Similar gauges out of Europe due on Monday and later in the week are also expected to show industry conditions wallowing around record lows, reinforcing the International Monetary Fund’s warning the global economy is headed for its biggest decline since the 1930s. “Global demand has slumped and we don’t think it has bottomed out yet. The latest incoming data for the U.S. and Western Europe point to an unprecedented slump in demand. And while China’s economy has started to recover, demand there remains very weak.”
The PMI for Taiwan, a major producer of high-end technology components, fell to 42.2, its lowest since 2009 and down from an expansionary 50.4 in March. Capital Economics’ Holmes said while South Korea and Taiwan held up better than other Asian peers, thanks mostly to effective government policies to contain the virus, conditions have nonetheless worsened.
It said that while work-from-home orders and growth in online learning would underpin demand for memory chips, the outlook for smartphones and TVs was bleak as consumers put off discretionary spending.
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