BRUSSELS - MANUFACTURING activity in the countries sharing the euro fell to a record low in December, according to a widely watched survey released on Friday.

The eurozone's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector, compiled by data and research group Markit, slipped to 33.9 points from 35.6 points in November, the lowest level in the survey's 11-year history.

It was the seventh consecutive monthly fall in manufacturing activity and worse than expected as market participants surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting no change to the original estimate of 34.5 points.

The fresh data will increase the pressure on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates when it meets next Thursday. The ECB's key rate currently stands at 2.50 per cent.

The eurozone, which was boosted to 16 nations with the addition of Slovakia on Thursday, slipped into recession in the third quarter of 2008, with gross domestic product contracting for two consecutive quarters for the first time since the currency bloc was formed in 1999.

On a national level, manufacturing activity in Germany, the bloc's industrial powerhouse shrank to 32.7 in December from 35.7 in November, while in France it fell to 34.9 from 37.3.

The Italian manufacturing sector bucked the gloomy trend by ticking up, but only to 35.5 from 34.9, leaving it still mired in near record lows.