China reported low economic numbers for the month of April, highlighting the damage Covid lockdowns have wreaked on the country. Retail sales plunged 11.1% in April from a year ago, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Unemployment also rose to the second-highest level on record. “After all, zero-Covid at the cost of surging unemployment is a hard sell politically,” said Larry Hu, chief China economist for Macquarie Capital.
