Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector saw a robust improvement during January, registering its highest level in 13 months, according to a recent survey sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by IHS Markit.
The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) hiked to56.2 points in January, up from 54.5 points during December 2018, the survey added.
The increase in the kingdom’s non-oil private sector highlighted the stronger growth in output, new orders and employment, along with the recovery of expansions in stocks of purchases.
“The main driver was an acceleration in new order growth, which appears to have been domestically driven, as export orders remained broadly flat month-on-month. Some of the growth in new orders was likely due to price discounting,” head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD Khatija Haque stated.
Companies raised the level of buying last month, which in return supported higher output requirements, Haque added.
“Business optimism about future output was the highest in more than five years in January 2019 … The recovery in oil prices last month after a sharp sell-off in December 2018 likely also helped,” she explained.
The GCC nation’s non-oil private sector business continued to provide discounts at the beginning of the year in a bid to support sales, the survey found.
