Business activity in Egypt shrank for the 11th consecutive month in August as data for output, new orders, and employment deteriorated, with purchase prices rising sharply amid a hard currency shortage, a survey on Monday found, Reuters reported. The Emirates National Bank of Dubai’s Egypt purchasing managers index for the non-oil private sector was 47.0 points, down from July’s 48.9 points and well below the 50 point mark that separates growth from contraction. Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy since a popular uprising in 2011 and subsequent political upheaval that has driven away investors and tourists, hitting inflows of the foreign currency it needs to import raw materials.
