The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development reviews the results of the PMI report for December 2021

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development reviewed the results of the Purchasing Managers Index report for December 2021, as the index reflects the performance of about 400 non-oil-producing private sector companies and includes the industrial, construction, services, selling, retail and wholesale sectors.The PMI report indicated that the last reading of the PMI rose during December 2021 compared to the previous month, to record: 49 points, compared to 48.7 points, to approach the neutral level (50 points), recording a reading higher than the series average (48.2) in the long term (since April 2011). The production sub-index rose during December to 48.2, an increase from 47.7 points, as well as the new orders index, which crossed the neutral level to record 54.9, an increase from 50.7.The improvement in tourism activity contributed to supporting new business, in addition to the sharp rise in export orders, which is the highest since February 2021, as the export orders index increased by 8.5% to reach about 55 points after it was 50.7 in November.The report also indicated a decline in the inflation rate of production inputs costs during December, after it rose to its highest level in more than three years during October 2021.The decline in the respective indicator was the fastest since October 2018, driven by a slowdown in purchase cost inflation as well as a decline in wage increases.According to the report, the employment index recorded about 49.5 in December, up from 48.5 in November, and within the framework of future expectations of unemployment rates during the coming period, it is estimated that the unemployment rate will range on average between 6.6% and 7.3% between the fiscal years 2020/21 and 2021 /22.The report indicated that the latest report of the World Economic Association issued by the Center for Economics and Business Research expected that the global economy would register a growth of 4.2%, which is lower than the International Monetary Fund’s estimates of global growth rates of 4.9% for the year 2022 in light of the uncertainty as a result of the rapid emergence and spread of mutants. 

Assuming conditions continue, global GDP growth is expected to rise by less than 1% in 2023, before recovering slightly in 2024 to 2%.As for the Egyptian economy, the Economics and Business Research Center expect Egypt to rank 33rd out of 191 countries in 2022, with a gross domestic product of EGP 4.34 trillion. The report expected that Egypt would rise to 32nd place in 2026. The annual rate of GDP growth would accelerate to 5.4% on average between 2022 and 2026.The latest data that reflects the internal economic situation also indicates that Egyptian exports rose to a record level of $31 billion in 2021.This growth was achieved thanks to the Egyptian state's efforts to improve the international competitiveness of manufacturing industries, promote industrial exports, and support exporters within the framework of the national structural reforms program that targets the real sector with radical and targeted structural reforms. Moreover, the Egyptian economy achieved a growth rate of 9.8% during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, which is the highest quarterly growth rate over the past two decades, compared to a growth rate of 0.7% during the first quarter of 2020/2021 fiscal year. It is expected that the annual growth rate will continue to rise, ranging between 5.5% and 5.7% by the end of the current fiscal year