Beijing: The COVID-19 situation in China has left the service sector shrinking to a six-month low in November, media reports said on Wednesday.

The figure has been showed by a private-sector business survey on Monday.

The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 46.7 from 48.4, marking the third monthly contraction in a row. The 50-point index mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis, reports The South China Morning Post.

The figure echoed weak data in a larger official survey on Wednesday, which showed services activity fell to a seven-month low, read the newspaper.

China imposed severe COVID-19 restrictions for the past several months which triggered widespread protests.

Analysts at Nomura estimated that areas in lockdowns accounted for about a quarter of China’s gross domestic product by the end of the month, choking domestic consumption, disrupting supply chains, and even stoking rare street protests across many cities, reports South China Morning Post.

“Since October, the impact of Covid outbreaks has taken a heavy toll on the economy, and the challenge of how to balance Covid controls and economic growth has once again become a core issue,” Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, told the newspaper.