The headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of Egypt dropped from 50.2 in December 2025 to 49.8 in January 2026, according to the latest S&P Global PMI data.
However, the headline PMI remained higher than its long-run average and consistent with a strong pace of non-oil GDP growth.
Non-oil business activity continued to rise at the beginning of this year, extending the longest streak of expansion seen since late-2020.
The output climbed for the third consecutive month, as companies witnessed their longest period of activity growth since the second half (H2) of 2020.
The expansion came amid easing demand conditions, with firms putting more work into clearing backlogs.
Meanwhile, the rising spare capacity led to a reduction in staffing and purchases, while a slowdown in cost pressures contributed to the first drop in prices charged in five-and-a-half years.
As for the coming period, the Egyptian non-oil companies will maintain their caution over activity levels over the coming 12 months.
David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “Although the Egypt PMI eased slightly at the start of 2026, it remained at a level indicative of growth in non-oil GDP.”
“A note of caution was sounded by a decline in backlogs of work in January, which indicates that firms may have less room to expand in the coming months if sales volumes remain broadly stable. Notably, this reduction in outstanding business encouraged firms to lower employment at the fastest rate in over two years, another sign that businesses expected to have spare capacity going forwards,” Owen explained.
He added: “Positively, cost pressures remain weak and even softened in January, with total input costs rising at the joint-slowest pace in ten months. This enabled firms to cut their own charges for the first time in five and a half years, which will hopefully instil greater confidence in clients to release spending.”
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