{"id":559052,"date":"2021-01-06T03:45:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T03:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/01\/06\/covid-bites-once-again\/"},"modified":"2021-01-06T03:45:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T03:45:01","slug":"covid-bites-once-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/01\/06\/covid-bites-once-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid bites once again"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Egypt\u2019s non-oil private sector recovery stalled again in December as covid-19 <\/strong>cases climbed steadily throughout the month<\/strong>, causing muted consumer demand, according to IHS Markit\u2019s purchasing manager\u2019s index (PMI) (pdf)<\/a>. The PMI gauge fell to 48.2 in December, down from 50.9 in November<\/a>, signaling a \u201cmoderate deterioration\u201d in business conditions as both output levels and new orders showed a \u201csolid fall.\u201d PMI readings above 50.0 indicate expansionary activity, while a reading below means it is contracting. Bloomberg<\/a> also had the story.<\/p>\n

December\u2019s reading ended a three-month growth streak as the private sector activity began to recover from an all-time low in April.<\/strong> But even though there was a downturn, it was nowhere near the plunge in output and sales seen at the height of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Customers are still apprehensive of the uptick in cases and the possibility of another lockdown<\/strong>, with businesses surveyed saying that \u201cfears of a \u2018second wave\u2019 of the pandemic and renewed lockdown measures meant some businesses held off from completing new orders,\u201d said David Owen, economist at IHS Markit.<\/p>\n

The drop in new orders \u201cwas a surprise\u201d to businesses<\/strong>, which had begun stockpiling inputs in 4Q2020 as recovering activity built a pipeline of new orders. The accelerated stock building on an anticipated uptick in demand that didn\u2019t pan out left unused inventory levels rising at the quickest pace since June 2012.<\/p>\n

As a result, purchasing activity fell sharply and easing backlog pressures led to employment levels dropping<\/strong> at the strongest pace since August, \u201calbeit still only moderate overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Output prices rose only slightly in December, with some businesses cutting charges to attract new customers and orders.<\/strong> For those who did raise prices, \u201chigher charges were generally linked to the pass-through of greater costs to clients, as raw materials such as copper and iron were sharply up in price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid the downturn, sentiment for the 12-month outlook was (kind of) a bright spot:<\/strong> The outlook for activity over the next year showed improvement last month as businesses placed their hopes on a recovery in 2021. \u201cOptimism around effective covid-19 vaccines led the improvement, while there were also expectations of new contracts and business expansion.\u201d That being said, overall sentiment was lower than the series average.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in the Gulf: <\/strong><\/p>\n