Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose 2.39% in December 2016 to hit 42.8 points, compared with 41.8 points in November, according to a report issued by Emirates NBD.
This reading still reflects the deterioration in business conditions, although reversing the lowest reading in 40 months, the report indicated.
The non-oil private sector was shackled by high cost pressure over the last quarter of 2016, namely after an aggressive hike in prices and inflation as a result of the Egyptian pound’s devaluation against the US dollar.
Moreover, the private sector’s employment capacity declined for the nineteenth month in a row by the end of December. In addition, the volume of incomplete activities remained unchanged by the end of 2016. Thus, an accumulation of incomplete activities was seen in December 2016 for the first time since September 2015.
