Egypt’s non-oil private sector saw a soft decline in July after the rate of contraction slowed down at the end of H1 2023. The headline purchasing managers’ index (PMI) moved up marginally from 49.2 from 49.1 in June, below the threshold, which indicated economic expansion but above the long-running average. Business activities have shrunk for 32 consecutive months; July's contraction was the slowest since August 2021. The S&P Global Egypt PMI report revealed output decreased at the slowest pace since September 2021, as new order inflows dropped modestly, and there was a renewed uptick in backlogs. “Nevertheless, if the demand recovery spreads and official inflation metrics show a softening, we could see a pick-up in sentiment soon.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 03, 2023 13:22 UTC