Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development issued a report reviewing the results of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for September 2020.
The ministry said that the country’s PMI rose to 50.4 points in September 2020, the first time that the index has exceeded the 50-point barrier since July 2019.
Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that the PMI is a monthly economic indicator that is calculated from surveys of private sector companies that do not operate in the oil sector.
It reflects the performance of about 400 private sector non-oil producing companies, including the industrial, construction, services, retail, and wholesale sectors.
She added that this indicator is considered an important economic measure, as companies, investors, and financial institutions rely on it for the degree of economic activity, particularly in the non-oil-producing private sector.
El-Said said that the improved commercial conditions of Egypt’s non-oil-producing sector, reflected in the index’s latest reading, are due to the improvement in consumer demand and export sales.
“The latest reading of the index indicates that this is the first time that the index has crossed the 50-point barrier since July 2019,” El-Said said.
She added that among the recent positive results of the overall index is the rise in the employment index to its highest level in 10 months.
“This indicates the start of the recovery from the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as a result of the measures taken by the Egyptian state to deal with the crisis, which was to support economic activity, support for irregular employment, and the sectors most affected by the pandemic,” El-Said said.
