Blow to economy deepens

Economic strain: Pedestrians walk along a promenade near a shopping mall in Shanghai. China is scheduled to release retail sales data today amid a widening Delta variant outbreak that could weigh on the country’s economic outlook. — Bloomberg

BEIJING: China is dealing with its most widespread Covid outbreak since the initial cases in 2020, with lockdowns striking a blow to consumption growth just as exports slow and while flooding and chip shortages weigh on industry.

How that’s affecting the economy will start to become clearer today, when July industrial output and retail sales data are released.