Lebanon’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) remained at 47.7 points in February, with the rate of decline slower than 2016’s average of 45.7 points. Even though the PMI maintained January’s 12-month high, the number of surveyed companies that reported greater levels of output and new orders in February was relatively higher than the previous month. Commenting on the February 2017 PMI results, Dr. Fadi Osseiran, General Manager at BLOMINVEST Bank, said: “In February, deterioration of the private sector’s business conditions continued at the same pace as the month before. As a matter of fact, the market was in a “wait and see” mode during the month amid talks related to the draft budget of 2017 and the awaited consensus over a new parliamentary electoral law. For the coming months, aside from security and political concerns, contraction of economic activity is expected to linger, if no economic reforms were put in place, even if at slower rates than those of 2016.”
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