Cairo - Mubasher: Egypt’s headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.8 in September 2025 from 49.2 in August, according to the latest S&P Global PMI data.

Staying below the 50.0 threshold for the seventh month in a row, the reading indicated another slight weakening in business conditions across Egypt’s non-oil private sector.

Non-oil businesses reported a sharper fall in new orders and output at the end of the third quarter (Q3), with order book inflows dropping to the greatest extent since April.

Firms attributed the decline in sales to weak economic conditions, higher prices, and mounting wage pressures.

Amid weaker demand, firms cut purchasing activity for the seventh consecutive month, led by sharper reductions among wholesale and retail businesses.

However, some businesses opted to increase their input stocks, marking the first rise in inventory levels since May.

After two months of job growth, employment stalled in September as most firms maintained steady workforce levels amid limited new work.

Input cost inflation eased to a six-month low amid a stronger EGP and lower import prices, while firms slightly raised output prices to offset expenses.

David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “The latest survey data pointed to a further decline in operating conditions across Egypt's non-oil economy; however, the downturn remained less steep than the survey trend and modest overall.”

“Although companies are struggling to gain new work amid challenging market conditions as a whole, they can take some comfort from a softening of input cost pressures, driven by the pound's strengthening against the US dollar over recent months," the economist added.