Egypt’s non-oil private sector contracted further in September, as new business and activity was negatively affected by rising inflation, supply problems and weak global demand, survey data from S&P Global showed on Thursday.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, rose marginally to 47.7 in October from 47.6 in September. However, any reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.
New orders fell for the eighth successive month amid rapid inflationary pressures and a subsequent fall in client spending, including customers from foreign markets.
Output contracted widely across the whole of the non-oil economy.
Input shortages were another concern for the Egyptian non-oil sector.
Import suspensions, introduced after the Russia-Ukraine war in order to limit the loss of foreign currency reserves, meant that a number of businesses were again unable to acquire relevant inputs.
On the price front, both input and output price inflation softened in October.
Business optimism among non-oil firms slid to its lowest in over a decade in the survey’s history. Following this, non-oil firms reduced staffing levels for the first time since June.
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