Egypt: Non-oil private sector improves in June but remains in contractionary territory
The Emirates NBD Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which measures business activity in the non-oil private sector, rose to 49.2 in June from 48.2 in May. The PMI therefore remained below the 50-threshold that separates contraction from expansion in June.
June’s improvement came on the back of a milder contraction in output and new orders, the latter of which was due to marginally improved domestic and external demand. Output charges were unchanged in June, following two successive months of decreases, while input inflation slowed to the second slowest rate since contemporary records began in April 2011. Meanwhile, employment decreased in June, although by a lesser degree than in May, and firms’ purchasing activity reduced, leading to a small drop in inventories. Lastly, businesses’ confidence about the near-term economic outlook fell to a five-month low in June.