Italy's manufacturing sector contracted in December for a ninth consecutive month but at a slower pace than the month before, a survey showed on Tuesday, amid persistent declines in output and new orders in the euro zone's third-largest economy.

The HCOB Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Italian manufacturing rose last month to 45.3 from 44.4 in November, still well below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.

The result was above the median forecast of a Reuters survey of seven analysts, which had pointed to a reading of 44.4 as in November.

"Italy's manufacturing industry wraps up the year with a lacklustre quarter. Despite a slight increase to 45.3 in December, the HCOB PMI fails to convey any signals of hope," said HCOB economist Tariq Kamal Chaudhry.

"Several companies attribute the production downturn to the persistent weakness in demand across the entire sector," he added.

The manufacturing output sub-index climbed to 45.4 from a previous 44.1, while the new orders score rose to 41.4 from 40.6, still deep in the sub-50 territory indicating contraction.

Italian gross domestic product edged up 0.1% in the third quarter from the previous three months, data showed in December, after declining by 0.4% between April and June.

National statistics bureau ISTAT forecast that the fourth quarter of last year would also be weak. (Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones and Susan Fenton)