Business activity in Egypt declines as inflation soars

The increasing cost of running businesses continues to wreck Egypt's non-oil economy.

While selling prices are high and demand plunged in November, new businesses fell at the quickest pace for six months, resulting in lower output and renewed cuts in jobs as well as purchasing, according to a latest business survey.

The IHS Markit Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was unchanged at 48.7 in November, indicating a moderate deterioration overall. The index has now posted below the 50.0 neutral mark for 12 successive months.

The decline in business conditions was led by a reduction in output levels in November. According to the IHS Markit survey, a declining demand from clients and slowdowns due to global supply chain issues were often behind the downturn.