Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE’s non-oil private sector “remained sharp” in September on the back of improved business conditions following above-average expansions in output and new orders, according to the new Emirates NBD purchasing managers index (PMI) survey.
Despite softening slightly, the third quarter was seen as the strongest quarter in almost two years, the report released Tuesday highlighted.
“New business from abroad slipped back to contraction, indicating that the recovery was driven by domestic demand. On the price front, output charges fell, whilst input price inflation softened to a four-month low,” Emirates NBD said.
The headline seasonally adjust index eased from a 30-month high of 57.3 in August to 55.1 in September; despite that, growth was “strong overall and steeper than the survey’s historical average.”
In terms of the third quarter of 2017, the PMI for the UAE’s non-oil private sector registered 56.1, marking the strongest data since the same period in 2015 when the UAE’s PMI stood at 56.3.
Last month, non-oil private sector companies posted the sharpest rise in output, marking an overall strong growth overall, although the pace of expansion slowed from its four-month high registered in August.
“The survey suggests that economic growth accelerated last quarter, and that domestic demand remains solid, despite relatively modest jobs growth,” commented Khatija Haque, head of MENA research at Emirates NBD.
“Behind the latest rise in output requirements was strong underlying demand for goods and services produced in the UAE’s non-oil private sector, according to anecdotal evidence. A sharp expansion in incoming new work was signalled in September,” the report said.
New work inflows mainly came from the domestic market rather than from foreign sources, the study added.
Meanwhile, employment levels have continued to rise for the seventeenth straight month although job creation had slowed since August and “was slight overall.”
As for prices, non-oil private sector companies said they decreased their output charges and selling prices for better competition.
The PMI non-oil private sector survey is sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by IHS Markit.
