Business activity just shy of growth in June: Egypt’s non-oil private sector activity picked up to its highest level in nearly three years in June, with companies seeing a rise in order volumes for the first time in three years due to easing price pressures and stabilizing economic conditions, the S&P Global’s Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (pdf) showed.

Almost growing: The index edged up to 49.9 in June, up from 49.6 in May, settling marginally below the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction — an indication of “broadly stable operating conditions at the end of the second quarter.” The reading was the country’s highest in three years and marked the 43rd straight month of Egypt’s non-oil private sector has been in contraction.

Orders are on the up for the first time in 34 months: New orders increased in June for the first time since August 2021. However, the increase was mainly seen in the manufacturing and service sectors, while construction and wholesale and retail reported declines.

Domestic and international demand are both helping drive the trend: The increase in orders was driven by “improving conditions in both domestic and international markets,” with firms reporting a “sharp increase in new export orders in June, the strongest recorded in two-and-a-half years.”

Output is also showing signs of recovery: While output levels in the non-oil private sector continued to fall, they did so at their “softest rate in three years.” Also potentially pointing to a soon-to-come increase in output was input purchases by volume increasing for the first since the end of 2021.

Despite improvements, business confidence fell to an all time low: Confidence in future activity fell to its lowest seen on record as volatile financial conditions leave firms uncertain about what’s next. This led to many companies cutting their workforces, but overall employment levels remained stable during June as other companies hired new workers in response to rising sales.

The story was also picked up by the international press: Reuters.

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