UAE and KSA PMIs down slightly but still strong in March
COMMERCIAL NEWS
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for UAE and Saudi Arabia dipped in March with the S&P Global for the UAE dipping to 56.9, from 57.1 in February and the Riyad Bank PMI survey for KSA at 57.0, down modestly from 57.2 in February.
This is still a strong reading for the index, however, and there has been a marked turnaround from the comparative slowdown seen in January in UAE, says Emirates NBD Research.
Growth in business activity slowed in March but remained robust with nearly a third of respondents noting an uptick in output. The pipeline for the coming months is positive as new orders accelerated in March, with domestic orders still driving the expansion. New export orders were also positive, but growth slowed from February, and it remained lower than the total order growth.
Robust expansion
Saudi Arabia has seen a robust expansion in the non-oil private sector, and in line with the series average. Output saw an acceleration in growth to a six-month high for the subcomponent, with the manufacturing sector in particular faring well.
The outlook for the coming months remains strong, as new orders growth accelerated again to a three-month high even as some firms noted an increasingly competitive market. New export orders ticked up but at a slower pace than total orders, suggesting that it remains domestic orders that are driving the expansion.--TradeArabia News Service
