By AARON BACK BEIJING—Chinese manufacturing activity contracted <a href="http://www.louisvuittonoutletsaleuk.co.uk"><strong>Louis Vuitton</strong></a> again in December, though at a more moderate pace than in the previous month, HSBC's gauge showed on Friday. The final HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 48.7 in December compared with 47.7 in November, HSBC Holdings PLC said. Despite the slight rise, the index remains in contractionary territory, adding to evidence that growth continues to slow in the world's second-largest economy. A reading below 50 indicates contraction from the previous month, while a reading above 50 indicates expansion. In a note, HSBC said the average PMI reading in the fourth quarter of 2011 was the worst since the first quarter of 2009, when the world economy was reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis. The HSBC PMI has been in contractionary territory in all but one of the past six months, a significantly worse performance than a competing PMI put out by the Chinese government, which <a href="http://www.louisvuittonukhandbagsuk.com"><strong>Louis Vuitton Handbags</strong></a> only dipped below 50 last month. Analysts say the HSBC PMI has been weaker because it is more weighted to smaller firms that have had difficulty accessing loans from banks. The government's official PMI figure will be released on Sunday. The final reading for the HSBC PMI was slightly below a preliminary reading of 49.0 that HSBC announced on Dec. 15. The preliminary figure is based on 85% to 90% of responses to HSBC's PMI survey. "While the pace of slowdown is stabilizing somewhat, weakening external demand is starting to bite," HSBC's chief economist for China, Hongbin Qu, said in a statement. "This, plus the ongoing property <a href="http://www.louisvuittonoutletsale2u.com"><strong>Louis Vuitton Official Outlet</strong></a> market correction, adds to calls for more aggressive action on both fiscal and monetary fronts to stabilize growth and jobs, especially with prices easing rapidly. Hard landings should be avoided so long as easing measures filter through in the coming months," he said. The subindex for new export orders fell to 49.7 in December from 52.1 in November. The employment subindex also fell, to 49.2 from 50.1. The HSBC China Manufacturing PMI is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives at more than 420 manufacturing companies. Write to Aaron Back at
aaron.back@dowjones.com