Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector saw a slight growth in September due to a slower improvement in production and new orders, according to a recent report sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by IHS Markit.
The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 53.4 in September, from 55.1 in the previous month, the report said. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below that signals contraction.
“The decline was due to softer growth in output and new orders, with new export orders contracting last month. Employment and inventory growth were also weaker in September, weighing on the headline PMI,” Khatija Haque, head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD, stated.
On a related note, the employment index decreased to 50.7 last month, registering its lowest level since November 2017, while producer price inflation’s rate eased from August.
“The PMI for third quarter of 2018 was higher than both Q1 and Q2, with output and new work rising at a faster rate than in the first half of this year,” the report said.
Client demand for services and goods levelled up in September, while new export orders tumbled for the first time since May.
“Partly in response to easing new order growth, backlogs of work at non-oil private sector companies increased at the slowest pace in four months. The rate of build-up was slight overall,” the report found.
The private sector companies remained optimistic about more growth in the coming period despite slower expansion in September.
