Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as PMI surveys show how the global economy is suffering from Covid-19Latest: UK PMI survey shows economy is slumpingAlarming contraction in European economy tooSharp contraction in Japan and Australia tooComing up: UK PMI at 9.30amCoronavirus - latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 9.42am GMT NEWSFLASH: The UK economy is contracting at its fastest rate in at least two decades, as the service sector is hit extremely hard by the Covid-19 outbreak.Data firm Markit reports that business activity across services and manufacturing has slumped this month, as the coronavirus deals the UK economy `a more severe blow than at any time since comparable figures were first available over 20 years ago`.Flash UK PMI drops to record low of 37.1 in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a more severe blow to the UK economy than during the financial crisis, even before more stringent measures for shops, pubs and restaurants announced last Friday. More here: https://t.co/l6mZjC7JDw pic.twitter.com/F4nMuCgYtV`The surveys highlight how the COVID-19 outbreak has already dealt the UK economy an initial blow even greater than that seen at the height of the global financial crisis. With additional measures to contain the spread of the virus set to further paralyse large parts of the economy in coming months, such as business closures and potential lockdowns, a recession of a scale we have not seen in modern history is looking increasingly likely. 9.16am GMT Economists agree that the eurozone is plunging into a deep downturn, although itīs hard to say quite how bad it will be....Eurozone preliminary PMI estimate plunges to a record low 31.4 in March from 51.5 in Feb. Services 28.4, manufacturing 39.5. Data was collected between 12-23 March, so I suspect final PMI will be even lower. Equates to big GDP fall, but can`t put a real fig on it (see 08 crisis). pic.twitter.com/SsXayqT72aItalian and Spanish PMIs will be publishe ...
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