China’s economic activity took a dramatic hit in April, according to a survey of sales managers that offered an early indication of how badly expansive Covid lockdowns weighed on the industry this month. The Sales Managers Index fell to 49.2, a 22-month low, from 51.8 in March, World Economics Ltd. said Thursday. The SMI surveys sales managers across both manufacturing and services sectors. Official and private surveys of manufacturing and services activity for April are due later this month. “All areas of economic activity appear to have been impacted,” the London-based data provider said in a report accompanying the data, adding that some 49% of survey companies claimed to have been affected by the lockdowns. Business confidence in April “all but evaporated,” with an index measuring all sectors plunging to 50.6 from March’s 53.5, the lowest since […]