Dubai – Mubasher: Business conditions across non-oil private sector firms in the UAE continued to improve at the beginning of the second quarter of 2017, according to a statement.
The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached 56.1 in April, from 56.2 at the end of Q1-16, showing an improvement in the sector’s health, with the PMI close to March’s 19-month high.
The overall upturn was mainly attributed to sharp increases in output and new orders, in addition to a survey-record increase in pre-production inventories.
“The UAE PMI remained little changed in April from March, at both a headline level and in terms of the detail,” according to Tim Fox, head of research and chief economist at Emirates NBD.
“The PMI shows that while overall activity was firm going into the second quarter, companies are still facing significant challenges as job creation remains subdued and pricing power is limited,” Fox added.
Firms increased their payroll numbers for the twelfth month in a row at a modest pace.
The rate of inflation was solid and only slightly slower than the preceding month. Firms operating in the UAE non-oil private sector faced “divergent” price trends at the beginning of Q2-17.
