Egypt's non-oil private activity contracted in October,PMI hits 8-month low

Business activity in Egypt's non-oil private sector was contracted in October as the headline PMI fell to an 8-month low, according to the monthly Emirates NBD Purchasing Managers' Index published on Tuesday.

The PMI fell to an 8-month low of 47.2 in October, after adjusting for seasonality, down from 50.2 in September, and below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction, according to the report of the monthly survey produced by Markit Economics.

“October’s survey suggests that the Egyptian economy has slowed at the start of Q4 2015," said Jean-Paul Pigat, Senior Economist at Emirates NBD. "Some of the issues that appear to be undermining output in the private sector – including problems with power supplies and the availability of FX – highlight the need to implement a more concerted programme of structural reforms to boost the economy’s short and long-term outlook.”

The main issues underpinning the downturn were "marked contractions in output and new orders" during October amid reports of weaker-than-expected demand. "Data for new business... signalled the quickest fall since February," said the report, while "new export work showed a similar downward trend, with the latest decline the joint-fastest in 25 months."