Steep drop in Egypt, Middle Easy PMI show t shows economic impact of covid-19

IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for March saw a steep drop in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar, Bloomberg reports, indicating that the costs of coronavirus in the region have already been heavy.

he PMI gauge in Egypt fell to 44.2 in March from 47.1 in February.

The number of coronavirus cases in the Middle East is rising and the curve is not flattening yet — cases have doubled in the last week and nearly tripled in less than three weeks.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index, a gauge of business sentiment, fell sharply in March in the six countries that publish it, and in half of these, it hit a record low.