China manufacturing and retail contract for first time

BEIJING (Bloomberg): China’s economic activity contracted more than expected in the first two months of 2020 after the country’s worst public-health crisis in decades killed thousands of people and crippled economic activity.

Industrial output fell 13.5% in January and February from a year earlier, versus a median estimate for a 3% contraction. Retail sales fell 20.5% in the period, compared to a projected 4% fall. Fixed-asset investment dropped 24.5%, versus a forecast 2% decline.