Dubai – Mubasher: Dubai’s non-oil private sector edged down slightly in February from the prior month but overall saw strong improvement across its subsectors, while new work registered an increase.
In February, the emirate’s non-oil private sector logged 55.8 down slightly from 56.0 in January, the seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index showed.
In terms of subsectors, the best performing in the survey was the wholesale & retail sector, registering 57.3, closely followed by the travel & tourism sector with 57.2 and the construction sector with 53.9.
A reading above 50.0 indicates an expansion whereas a reading below that level marks a contraction. A reading of 50.0 suggests no change.
“The PMI survey data for February continued to show solid growth in Dubai’s economy, with the travel and tourism sector performing particularly well after a relatively soft Q4-17,” commented Khatija Haque, Head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD.
Dubai’s business activity was strong in the private non-oil sector last month. The growth was sharp overall, the survey showed, “despite softening fractionally” since January.
Moreover, job creation was seen as moderate at the beginning of the year, and no change in the data was seen in February.
“The finding thereby ended an eleven-month streak of rising payroll numbers. Job shedding was registered in the travel & tourism and construction sectors, whilst growth was seen among wholesale & retail firms,” the report, released on Sunday, stated.
Meanwhile, new business inflows registered the fastest growth pace since August, with the sharpest rice in new work was seen the travel & tourism sector as many companies noted strong demand from both domestic and foreign sources.
“Optimism towards future growth prospects remained strongly positive, despite softening since January. New project wins and an expected economic upturn underpinned business confidence during February, according to anecdotal evidence,” the report said.
As for input costs, Dubai’s non-oil private sector companies reported an easing in the segment in February. Still, “inflation remained marked overall” backed by primarily by the wholesale & retail sector.
“Output charge inflation softened during the latest survey period. The rate of inflation was only slight overall, albeit above the series’ long-run average. The finding thereby extended the current sequence of rising selling prices to three months,” the Emirates NBD Economy Tracker Index indicated.
“Overall we expect Dubai’s economy to grow at a slightly faster rate this year, underpinned by infrastructure investment and government spending,” Haque added.
