Currencies
Pound’s Plummet Sends Egyptian Private Sector Into Sharp Decline
Egyptian pound banknotes at a food market in the Imbaba district of Giza, Egypt.
Photographer: Islam Safwat/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Conditions in Egypt’s non-oil economy deteriorated sharply in January as a steep devaluation of the pound heaped more price pressures on businesses, prompting them to trim activity, buying and jobs.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by S&P Global, which measures the performance of the private sector, fell to 45.5 from 47.2 in December, remaining below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for a 26th month. The decline was one of the sharpest in that series.