Although the BLOM Lebanon PMI registered 45.5 in February 2014, up from 44.7 in January, the reading still signals deterioration in the performance of the private sector.
Commenting on the latest survey findings, Marwan Mikhael, Head of research at BLOMINVEST Bank said: “Investors and private sector agents remain on the sidelines as political and security situations did not improve, and the new government is still not fully functional. As a result, the PMI continues to show a contraction in private sector activity with weakness in tourism, retail, and construction sectors pulling down the index. The number of tourists is falling and Arab investors in real estate are shying away following repetitive security warnings from their governments.”
In fact, the unstable security situation extended the sequence of contraction in output levels to nine months. New orders were also lower in February, on account of the second consecutive monthly decline in new export orders. In an attempt to boost new business, prices charged by private sector firms fell at the fastest rate in five months.