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· Egypt’s Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMI) recorded 49.3 in February, up from 48.7 in January
· Any value over 50 is rated as a positive number and below that is an indication that the economy in underperforming
· The private sector output decreased for a third straight month in February, when companies reported a drop in sales amid the continued impact of the pandemic
Egypt’s Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMI) recorded 49.3 in February, up from 48.7 in January. Any value over 50 is rated as a positive number and below that is an indication that the economy is underperforming.
Business conditions in Egypt’s non-oil private sector continued to decline in February. It canceled out small buoyancy between September and November 2020. Demand trends have moved closer to stabilization, particularly as export sales picked up at a record pace during the month.
Meanwhile, unemployment fell at a slower rate in February, as some firms expanded their staffing levels to account for an increase in workloads. That gave a promising trend for an expansion in output as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
The private sector output decreased for a third straight month in February, when companies reported a drop in sales amid the continued impact of the pandemic. That also led to drop in new sales, which was less marked compared to that seen in January, due to a strong upturn in export demand. Reductions in output and new orders led Egyptian companies to lower their purchasing activity in February, extending the decline seen since the end of 2020.
Inventories of purchased items were also driven marginally. Job numbers continued to fall midway through the first quarter, as some firms mentioned that they did not replace voluntary leavers in an effort to lower staff costs.
