The deterioration of the operating environment in Lebanon’s private sector economy extended through the third quarter of 2017 as shown by Lebanon’s PMI released by Blominvest Bank. The PMI steadied at 46.3 in August, below the 50 mark separating economic contraction from economic expansion but also below the average of 46.9 registered so far in 2017 given weak demand and a sharp downturn in the level of new orders. Commenting on the August 2017 PMI results, Marwan Mikhael, Head of Research at BLOMINVEST Bank, said: “Weak demand continued to hinder the economic activity in August, an indicator of a sustained lack of confidence in the current economic policy adopted by the government. The recent passing of the public sector wage increase by the parliament will have a negative impact on demand as the approval of several hikes in taxes, in parallel, to finance this increase will lead to a jump in consumer prices. Unless the government implements measures to improve the business environment and to develop the infrastructure in order to attract investors, private sector activity will continue to suffer.”