Cairo – Mubasher: The headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of Egypt increased to 50.7 in January 2025 from 48.1 in December 2024, according to the latest S&P Global PMI data.
The non-oil private sector expanded in January, marking its best performance for more than four years as output and sales volumes increased.
David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Growth at the start of 2025 was welcome news for Egypt's non-oil private sector, which has struggled in recent times amid rampant inflation and the wider effects of regional instability.”
Firms witnessed a pick-up in domestic market conditions, which derived higher sales higher. This helped to cool the rate of output price inflation to its lowest in four-and-a-half years.
Meanwhile, the total business activity and new orders slightly grew in January.
Owen added: “A reduction in some input prices helped to soften cost pressures and fuel a pick-up in sales for only the second time in over three years,”
"The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas likely added confidence to markets in January. That said, business expectations for the next 12 months remain subdued, showing that firms are still uncertain about economic stability over the longer term,” he elaborated.
Last month, the purchases of inputs climbed, leading to a fresh increase in input inventories.
Total employment stabilised across the non-oil economy in January following a two-month run of job cuts.
Overall input prices rose at a solid pace at the beginning of 2025. However, the rate of inflation softened markedly from December and was the weakest recorded for eight months.
Some respondents highlighted greater cost pressures due to a stronger US dollar, while others mentioned a reduction in material prices.
"The survey's price metrics gave some hopeful signs for inflation. The official CPI rate dropped to a two-year low of 24.10% in December, and our findings suggest that this should continue to fall in the months to come,” the economist noted.