PHOTO
Lebanon’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased in July but business conditions remained challenging with lower new orders and a ‘subdued’ 12-month outlook.
At 48.3, the headline index reached its highest point since April, up from 47.8 in June, and above its historical average of 46.7, but was still below the 50.0 threshold for improvement in business conditions.
Employment fell slightly amid a subdued 12-month outlook, the BLOM Lebanon PMI survey said.
Lower intakes of new business weighed on activity levels, with domestic challenges relating to the political and economic situation, as well as adverse effects from the war in Gaza, hindering sales and restricting output across the country.
There was a moderation in price pressures, the BLOM Lebanon PMI report said.
The report highlighted the security situation as impacting new export business, which fell for an eighth month running, but overall new orders fell at the softest pace in three months.
Lower output requirements led to a reduction in purchasing activity for the first time in four months, while employment levels were cut by the greatest margin in a year-and-a-half.
Private sector firms in Lebanon anticipate a contraction over the next 12 months, with expectations that the persistence of conflict in the region, as well as sustained weakness in the domestic economy, weighing on sentiment.
There was a further fractional improvement in supplier performance in July, although panellists continued to report greater shipping costs, as well as higher prices for imported items.
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Daniel Luiz)