ROME (Reuters) - Italian manufacturing activity shrank in December at the fastest pace in 19 months, a survey showed on Friday, a sign the euro zone's third-biggest economy is still struggling to escape its third recession in six years.
The Markit/ADACI Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 48.4 from 49.0 in November, staying below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for a third straight month.
The PMI result is in line with a recent trend of weak data from Italy, whose economy has not grown since mid-2011.
The sub-index for new orders dropped to 47.0 in December, its lowest since May 2013, from 47.8 the previous month, and the indices measuring output and employment levels also declined.
One bright spot was that foreign orders continued to grow, though at a slightly slower pace than in November, boosted in part by new business in the United States, Markit said.
Recent data give little hope that a recovery is around the corner to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has cut taxes for low earners in a bid to boost consumer spending and is pushing for the European Union to loosen its strict spending limits.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Catherine Evans)