Egypt’s pace of decline in non-oil business conditions softened in April

Egypt’s pace of decline in non-oil business conditions softened in April

The pace of decline in the operating conditions of Egypt's non-oil businesses softened in April due to a slower fall in demand and easing inflationary pressures, a business survey revealed on Monday.

According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data, import controls and high prices overall continued to weigh on inventories, while sustained economic weakness led to the most downbeat outlook in the survey's history.

S&P Global Egypt PMI was posted at 47.3 in April. The index rose from 46.7 in March to its highest since October last year, signalling that business conditions declined to a lesser extent.

The PMI survey pointed towards notable contractions in activity and sales across the non-oil economy. The respondents of the survey cited weak client demand linked to high inflation for dampening sales.

David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "The latest PMI figures for Egypt provided some promising hints for the direction of the non-oil economy, particularly on inflation. Relative calmness in currency markets led to reduced pressure on import prices, culminating in the softest rise in purchase costs for a year and one that was weaker than the trend rate."

"The slowdown encouraged firms to raise their own charges to a lesser