Cairo – Mubasher: The downturn in Egypt’s non-oil private sector gathered speed during November, according to Emirates NBD Egypt PMITM report.
Both output and new business fell sharply, leading business conditions to worsen at a marked pace. The respective rates of contraction were the quickest since September 2013. Moroever, the sector was weighed down by survey-record declines in employment and stocks of purchases. On the price front, reports of currency weakness were more prevalent than in previous months, thereby placing strong inflationary pressure on purchasing costs. This was barely passed on to consumers, however, as charges remained stable.
The survey, sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by Markit, contains original data collected from a monthly survey of business conditions in the Egyptian private sector.
Commenting on the Emirates NBD Egypt PMITM, Jean-Paul Pigat, Senior Economist at Emirates NBD, said: “The fall in the PMI was not entirely unexpected this month, particularly following the Russian air disaster. Once again, respondents are citing FX issues as a factor that is resulting in declining output across the private sector, which simply reinforces our view that a macro recovery will depend, in part, on authorities easing capital controls and allowing the EGP to weaken in 2016.”
