BEIJING - Chinese consumers with bankcards showed weaker confidence in consumption in December, according to an index released on Thursday.

The Bankcard Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI), compiled by Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay, a national bankcard association, dropped 1.25 points year on year to 85.43 points last month.

The index was down 0.77 points from November. A lower reading in the index shows a decline in consumers' desire to spend.

A report released along with the index attributed the decline mainly to consumers less willing to spend on non-necessities amid slowing economic growth.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China's purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector, a major barometer of economic activity, dropped to 51 percent in December from 51.4 percent in November.

The BCCI index, first released in April 2009, is based on bankcard transaction data and analyses of changes in urban consumption.