Egypt PMI drops in April to lowest level in 9 months

The Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 47.7 in April from 48.0 in March, its fifth consecutive month below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction, IHS Market said on Thursday.

It added that Egypt’s non-oil private sector economic conditions have worsened during April by the most since June 2020.

According to IHS Markit, sub-indexes showed declines in output, new orders, and employment as rising global raw material costs pushed inflation to the fastest pace since September 2019.

During April, the level of new export orders received by Egyptian firms rose strongly, which purchasing managers attributed to an improvement in activity across foreign markets.

However, expectations for future output decreased significantly in April, as a rise in domestic coronavirus cases and concerns about financial liquidity damped optimism, IHS Markit noted.