Official data: China’s manufacturing activities declined for the third straight month in December

China’s manufacturing activities fell for the third month in December 2022 as the country grappled with a wave of COVID-19 infection cases that swiped through factories after the government abruptly lifted most lockdown restrictions.

A surge in infection cases caused a temporary labour shortage and supply disruption.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 47.0 from 48.0 in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Non-manufacturing data, which consists of service and construction sectors fell to 42.6 in December from 47.1 the month earlier.

Industry experts expected manufacturing activities in China to dwindle in the next several months even if the number of COVID-19 infection cases declined. This is because of the weak external demand on the back of recession fears, rising interest rates, and inflation. 

The new order index dropped 2.5 percentage points to 43.9%.

Values below the 50-point mark indicate contractions.