Chinese Factory Activity Slows in December in 3rd Straight Month of Contraction

Chinese Factory Activity Slows in December in 3rd Straight Month of Contraction
Employees work on engines at a factory in Qingzhou, in China's eastern Shandong province on Nov. 30, 2023. STR/AFP via Getty Images
The Associated Press
Updated:
0:00

BANGKOK—A survey of factory managers in China shows manufacturing contracted in December in the latest sign the country’s economy remains sluggish.

The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, fell to 49 last month in what officials said was evidence of weak demand, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday. It was the third straight month of contraction. The PMI is on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction.