Factories fall quiet as world slides into recession and coronavirus shock deepens

"Things are likely to get a lot worse in the months ahead," Alex Holmes at Capital Economics said in a note to clients, noting the survey period for the PMIs likely didn't capture more recent lockdowns such as those in Malaysia and Thailand. The consultancy expects global gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by more than 3% this year.

LONDON/TOKYO/WASHINGTON: Factories fell quiet across much of the world in March as the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed economic activity, with evidence mounting that the world is sliding into deep recession.

Manufacturing activity has tumbled, purchasing managers' index (PMI) surveys showed on Wednesday, with sharp slowdowns in export powerhouses like Germany and Japan overshadowing a modest improvement in China. In the United States, one widely followed survey showed the contraction in output was not as dramatic as feared, but new orders slumped to an 11-year low, signaling the worst is still to come.