From Ahram Online

Business activity in Egypt expanded at its fastest rate in three months in December, a survey showed on Tuesday, with rising output and export demand bolstering a fragile economic recovery.

The HSBC Egypt Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for thenon-oil private sector rose to 51.4 points in December, from 50.7 points the previous month, reaching its highest level since registering a near-record 52.4 points in September. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion in activity while those below 50 point to a contraction.

“Egypt is yet to regain momentum but a fifth consecutive score above 50.0 reinforces our view that the economy continues to stabilise,” Simon Williams, chief economist for the Middle East at HSBC, said. “We look for a pick-up in growth in 2015, albeit off a low base.”

Four years of political turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has battered Egypt’s economy and frightened off tourists and investors.

The government is trying to strike a balance between cuttingits deficit and reviving economic growth, which at 2.2 percentin the 2013/14 fiscal year remains too slow to create enoughjobs for a youthful population of 87 million.

In a sign that the economy is slowly recovering, output rose at its fastest level in three months in December, with the output sub-index reaching 51.8 points, while the new orders index rose to 52.8 points.

Read more at Ahram Online