Dubai-Mubasher: The UAE’s non-oil private sector saw the second consecutive pick-up, according to a survey by Emirates NBD.
The headline Emirates NBD UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI) climbed to a four-month high of 54.5 points in March, up from 53.1 points in February.
The rise in total input costs was restricted by a marginal drop in salaries – the first recorded since December 2011, the survey showed.
Firms were optimistic about future demand, leading them to build up their pre-production inventories.
The rate of input price inflation was only modest overall, despite accelerating to the fastest so far in 2016, the report said.
Increased competition led businesses to cut their tariffs for the fifth straight month.
While the improvement in the Emirates NBD UAE PMI in March is encouraging, the average PMI for Q1-16 shows a further slowdown in the non-oil private sector of the UAE at the beginning of 2016, Khatija Haque, Head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD, said.
“Nevertheless, the solid growth in output and new orders in the first quarter suggest that domestic demand is holding up well despite the headwinds of a strong USD and low oil prices,” Haque added.
