China's manufacturing activity drops for third straight month in December

China's manufacturing activity contracted sharply in December for the third month in a row, according to Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)

The coutry’s PMI came in at 47 points, down from November's 48 and well below the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction, despite China loosening COVID restrictions at the beginning of the month.

For over two years, China had imposed a zero-COVID strategy with strict quarantines, lockdowns, and mass testing that led to unannounced plant closures, disrupted supply chains, and forced permanent company closures.

China abruptly loosened pandemic restrictions on December 7, but the country is still struggling to recover due to a surge in COVID cases.

NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe noted that the pandemic has had a significant impact on business production and demand, staff presence, logistics, and distribution.

The index has not been in positive territory since September, and December's figure was lower than the 47.8 reading predicted by Bloomberg analysts.

For its part, the non-manufacturing PMI -- which includes the services and construction sectors -- also contracted further this month, to 41.6 points from 46.7 in November.