The private sector’s economic activity remained firmly in contraction area in October, as revealed by the Lebanon’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released by BLOMINVEST Bank today. BLOM PMI stood at 43.8 in October, well below the 50 mark which separates economic growth from contraction. The deterioration came on the back of faster falls in companies’ new and export orders. Commenting on the October 2016 PMI results, Maya Mantash, Head of equity research at BLOMINVEST Bank, said: “The PMI hits its lowest recorded reading since the beginning of the surveys in 2013, in the same month that brought the resolution of a two and a half year long Presidential deadlock. This is a very meaningful indication, warning us that although the election will boost market sentiment, it is hardly enough to see the revival of the economy. Local demand on Lebanese products is depressed and has reached its bottom score in October, and the output index was at a near-record low. The next month’s political agenda is still loaded, but we hope for a fast track formation of the government to start working on real solutions to ease the private sector’s recessionary pressures.”
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