Rising cost pressures weigh on Egypt’s non-oil private sector in December: PMI
Updated 1/6/2025 8:16:00 AM
Arab Finance: Egypt's non-oil private business activity retreated in December 2024 due to rising price pressures, according to the latest S&P Global Egypt PMI survey data.
The headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped from 49.2 in November to 48.1 in December, reflecting a decline in the non-oil private sector’s health for the fourth consecutive month .
The deterioration, which was the strongest since April 2024, was underpinned by a weakening exchange rate to the US dollar.
The PMI report highlighted that output and new orders fell sharply in eight months. In this regard, companies attributed weaker demand with challenging economic conditions for clients and rising price pressures.
Meanwhile, the downturn in private sector activity was particularly marked across the construction as well as wholesale and retail sectors, sub-sector data showed.
Non-oil businesses cut employment for the second month in a row through the non-replacement of departing staff, which offset some mentions of capacity improvements.
David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "The latest Egypt PMI data showed that the non-oil private sector's anticipated recovery is unlikely to be without its setbacks in 2025.”
“With the Egyptian pound deteriorating against the US dollar, breaching the 50-per-dollar mark in early December, businesses reported higher prices and a slump in demand, leading to the fastest decline in operating conditions since last April,” Owen elaborated.
By the end of 2024, non-oil companies were more optimistic about future business activity, as sentiment improved from a near-record low in November.
Many companies expressed optimism about improving domestic and geopolitical conditions in 2025, although concerns about inflation caused some to feel pessimistic.
Related News
