China factory activity shrinks -

BEIJING, Nov 30 (AFP): China's factory activity contracted in November for the second month in a row, official data showed Thursday, piling pressure on the government to provide more support.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index-a key measure of factory output -- dipped to 49.4, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The figure was slightly down from October and also weaker than the 49.8 forecast in a survey by Bloomberg.

China began dismantling its draconian zero-Covid restrictions in December 2022 after almost three years, which allowed the economy to rebound.