"China's Factory Activity Contracts for Third Consecutive Month Amid Testing Rigor"
China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 49 in December, indicating a contraction in factory activity for the third month in a row. Despite this, non-manufacturing PMI saw a slight increase, and overall business confidence showed signs of improvement. The contraction in manufacturing was attributed to the off-season for some raw materials industries, while non-manufacturing activities expanded, leading to a composite PMI of 50.3, slightly down from November's 50.4.