UAE - Mubasher: The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) retreated to 50.9 in August from 51.7 in July, reflecting slower growth in the emirate's non-oil economy.
Registering above the 50.0 neutral mark for the second month in a row shows a further improvement in Dubai's non-oil private sector amid the continuous recovery of business conditions from the coronavirus (COVID-19) impact, according to a press release on Wednesday.
However, the latest growth in production was the weakest for three months, coupled with slower growth in demand.
Hence, job losses have accelerated from July, and firms decreased selling prices at the fastest rate since October 2019.
The Economist at IHS Markit, David Owen, commented: "Firms have not seen a full-scale uplift in demand to pre-pandemic levels and many commented that market conditions remained strongly depressed."
Owen added: "Business optimism weakened, with some firms expecting activity to improve but others citing that the unpredictability of the recovery could lead to business closures."
