
BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - China's factory activity unexpectedly grew in December, snapping eight straight months of decline, an official survey showed on Wednesday, even as factory profits dropped at their steepest rate in over a year last month.
The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.1 in December, versus 49.2 in November, above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction.
It beat analysts' forecast of 49.2 in a Reuters poll.