{"id":592355,"date":"2023-08-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/08\/03\/this-evening-pmi-rises-again-in-july-but-remains-in-contraction-territory\/"},"modified":"2023-08-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T00:00:00","slug":"this-evening-pmi-rises-again-in-july-but-remains-in-contraction-territory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/08\/03\/this-evening-pmi-rises-again-in-july-but-remains-in-contraction-territory\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS EVENING: PMI rises again in July, but remains in contraction territory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon friends, and HAPPY THURSDAY.<\/strong> We\u2019re finally at the tail-end of the week, although there remain a few loose ends to tie up as the Central Bank of Egypt\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee is set to review interest rates at its meeting later this evening. <\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Private sector contraction softens again in July:<\/strong> The contraction in Egypt\u2019s non-oil private sector slowed to its softest pace in almost two years on the back of uptick in market demand, according to S&P Global\u2019s purchasing managers\u2019 index (pdf)<\/a>. The country\u2019s PMI rose for the fourth consecutive month, reaching 49.2 in July, up from 49.1 in June. This is the highest reading since August 2021 but remains below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction, making July the 32nd consecutive month that business activity has been in decline.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mixed bag of news today, but the Trump Indictment continues to pick up some <\/strong>traction<\/strong> on CNN<\/a> and Associated Press<\/a> as they discuss expectations for the former president\u2019s court arraignment for attempting to undermine Joe Biden\u2019s ascension to the presidency and the attack on the US Capitol. Warren Buffet\u2019s take on Fitch Ratings\u2019 downgrade of the US\u2019 credit rating is topping headlines on CNBC<\/a>, as he asserts that the long-term foreign currency issuer default rating downgrade to AA+ from AAA does not change the standing of the greenback. Meanwhile, the outlook on the EU economy is not looking good, notes the Financial Times<\/a>, adding that the US\u2019 \u201csoft landing\u201d is gearing more confidence in the US rather than in Europe.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY- <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s interest rate day: We anticipate that The Central Bank of Egypt will leave interest<\/strong> rates<\/strong> unchanged after its policy meeting this evening, which is the consensus of analysts and economists we spoke to last week.<\/p>\n

The Greek PM is in town:<\/strong> President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will hold talks today with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in El Alamein, according to Mitsotakis\u2019 office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today\u2019s EnterpriseAM:<\/strong><\/p>\n