FILE PHOTO: Employees of Gstar Electronic Appliance Co., Ltd work to assemble air fryers in the factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's factory activity shrank for a seventh month in October, an official survey showed on Friday, suggesting the need for further stimulus to boost demand, with efforts to ship goods abroad merely exporting price wars.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped to 49.0 in October, a 6-month low, versus 49.8 in September, below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction, and missing a median forecast of 49.6 in a Reuters poll.

(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Sam Holmes)