Latest news with #economicDecline
Arab News
06-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Egypt's non-oil private sector contracts in June as PMI falls to 48.8
RIYADH: Egypt's non-oil private sector continued to contract in June, with the Purchasing Managers' Index falling to 48.8 from 49.5 in May, as business confidence plunged to its lowest level on record. According to the latest S&P Global survey, this marked the fourth consecutive month below the neutral 50 threshold, signaling a continued deterioration in operating conditions. The decline was accompanied by the sharpest reduction in purchasing activity in nearly a year and a pronounced drop in sentiment about the year ahead. The June PMI downturn came amid escalating regional and economic pressures, with spillovers from the Gaza conflict suppressing tourism, remittance flows, and Suez Canal revenues — all key sources of foreign exchange and domestic demand. Concurrently, intermittent disruptions in Israeli gas exports have sparked concerns over energy reliability, while elevated freight rates have inflated import costs. David Owen, a senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: 'Overall expectations for future activity were the lowest ever recorded in June.' He added: 'This downbeat sentiment reflects subdued hopes for order books, as well as concerns that geopolitical risks could cause greater economic disruption.' The survey, conducted between June 12 and 20, highlighted deepening demand weakness across the economy. Businesses widely reported that weaker order books prompted them to scale back output, while a broad stagnation in local markets contributed to the drop in new orders. Although the pace of decline accelerated compared to May, S&P Global noted that it remained softer than the series average. Purchasing volumes decreased for the fourth month running, with the contraction gathering pace to become the fastest recorded in nearly a year. The manufacturing sector saw the largest cutbacks among the surveyed industries. As a result of reduced buying levels, inventories stalled in June after having risen slightly in the preceding three months. The data also pointed to ongoing strains in supply chains, reflected in a slight lengthening of supplier delivery times for the second month in a row. Employment levels continued to weaken, though the rate of job shedding was described as fractional and was the softest observed in the current five-month sequence of workforce reductions. S&P Global noted that staffing cuts were driven not only by diminished demand but also by the prevailing pessimism regarding future activity. 'Although rates of contraction accelerated from the prior survey, they remained softer than their respective historic trends,' Owen added. 'Nevertheless, a faster drop in input purchases combined with stalling hiring activity suggests that firms expect demand to remain low and are thereby looking to make cost savings.' On the cost side, there was a modest reprieve for businesses. Input cost inflation eased to a three-month low, while the pace at which firms raised output prices slowed considerably from May's seven-month high. This softening of price pressures provided some relief but did little to offset the overall deterioration in confidence. The S&P Egypt PMI is a composite index derived from survey responses from around 400 private-sector firms, designed to provide a single-figure snapshot of non-oil business conditions. Readings above 50 signal improvement, while those below 50 indicate deterioration.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
May Consumer Spending Surprisingly Declines; Core Inflation Accelerates
Consumer spending unexpectedly declined last month as outlays on goods turned negative, while the Fe
Bloomberg
27-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Canada Economy Set for Contraction in Second Quarter
The Canadian economy is on track for a modest decline this quarter, yet isn't deteriorating as fast as some economists feared. Advance data showed industry-based gross domestic product shrank 0.1% in May, matching April's 0.1% decline, Statistics Canada said Friday.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The US economy shrank much faster in the first quarter than previously reported
The US economy contracted in the beginning of the year at a much faster pace than previously reported, after new data factored in much weaker consumer spending. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, registered an annualized rate of -0.5% from January through March, the Commerce Department said Thursday in its third and final estimate. That's worse than the 0.2% decline reported in the second estimate. GDP is adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation. The latest estimate showed that consumer spending — the lifeblood of the US economy — was tepid in the beginning of the year. Spending in the first quarter grew at a rate of just 0.5%, down from 1.2% in an earlier estimate. That's the weakest rate in more than four years. The first quarter's decline in GDP was attributed to a massive trade deficit as American businesses rushed to stock up on imports to get ahead of President Donald Trump's stiff tariffs. The third estimate revised imports down, but they still greatly exceeded exports, which subtracted from GDP. A deluge of economic data released Thursday, albeit backward looking, provides a clearer picture how the US economy has fared in the face of Trump's massive policy shifts, which in addition to new GDP data, also includes fresh figures on durable goods, new applications for unemployment benefits, and mortgage rates. 'Thursday's GDP is backward looking and stocks already priced in the economic weakness caused by the tariffs during their decline in early April,' Paul Stanley, chief investment officer, Granite Bay Wealth Management, wrote in commentary issued Thursday. 'Now, with stocks back at record highs, the market is looking ahead and pricing in an environment where tariffs are lower and that companies will be able to adapt and navigate tariffs.' Overall, the latest economic numbers continue to show how tariff fears are weighing on the world's largest economy as key drivers of growth — the labor market and spending — have lost some momentum. A separate report showed that unemployed Americans are having an increasingly harder time finding work. Fresh data released Thursday morning by the Labor Department showed the number of people receiving jobless benefits for at least one week rose by 37,000 to 1.974 million, marking the highest total since November 6, 2021. 'The data today confirmed that continuing claims are going up because it takes a little longer to find a job. That's consistent with the hiring numbers just being slower as the economy comes to a more sustainable pace,' San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg. 'But when I look at the labor market, there are really no warning signs that it's weakening.' The Commerce Department separately reported on Thursday that new orders for US durable goods surged 16.4% last month, as business demand for transportation equipment ramped up sharply. The overall boost in orders last month came as China lowered tariffs on American exports from 125% to 10%, while the US lowered tariffs on Chinese exports from 145% to 30%. New orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft — a closely watched proxy for business investment — grew at a rate of 1.7% in May from the prior month, rebounding sharply from a 1.4% decline in April. That bodes well for economic growth in the second quarter, which will be reported next month. But the latest figures likely don't have much bearing for Fed officials, who are divided on whether the central bank should resume lowering interest rates next month. 'The revisions to GDP won't have significant implications for the Federal Reserve as it's backward looking. The Fed is focused on the inflation risks stemming from tariffs and the labor market,' Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics, said in an analyst note Thursday. 'If the Fed pivots and signals that it will cut rates earlier than we anticipate, with the next occurring in December, it will be because of the labor market, not GDP.' This is a developing story and will be updated. CNN's Alicia Wallace and Elisabeth Buchwald contributed to this report. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
News24
25-06-2025
- Business
- News24
South Africans feel the pinch as take-home pay drops again
South Africans' real take-home pay declined by 1.1% in May from the previous month, according to BankservAfrica. The drop marked the third consecutive monthly decline in consumer salaries, reflecting the strain of a sluggish local economy and mounting global volatility, the Johannesburg-based lender said in a statement on Wednesday. Its data tracks about 3.8 million salary earners in South Africa. Real take-home pay totalled R14 832 in May, compared with R15 003 the month before, BankservAfrica said in a statement. The gauge has yet to recover to a record R16 368 set in February 2021 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, its data showed. The month-on-month decline came despite a 5.8% year-on-year increase in average take-home pay, which continues to support household purchasing power, the bank said. However, stagnant economic growth in early 2025 and persistent global headwinds are weighing on momentum. 'The upward trend in take-home pay from mid-2024 to early 2025 has been a positive development after some years of dismal growth,' said independent economist Elize Kruger. 'However, recent months reflect a U-turn, with 2025 proving to be a volatile year so far.' Downward revisions to both domestic and global growth are weighing on confidence and delaying investment decisions, which are hampering economic activity, BankservAfrica said. Until clearer signals emerge, both households and investors are expected to tighten their belts, Kruger said.
