UAE – Mubasher: The UAE’s non-oil private sector has maintained growth in July 2019, but at a slow pace, a recent report by IHS Markit revealed.
The headline seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 55.1 in July from 57.7 in June, marking its lowest level since February.
Business activity and new orders of the non-oil private companies increased in July, despite the marginal decrease in rates of expansion, the survey showed.
Panelists reported that the increase in sales have boosted business activities last month, while marketing activity bolstered overall workloads.
Moreover, output prices eased for the 10th consecutive month in July, while input prices remained unchanged.
A lack of upward pressure on input costs have enabled non-oil private firms to offer discounts, the report added, noting that purchase prices and staff costs changed slightly in July.
Employment grew marginally in July for the fifth month in a row, as the majority of companies were reluctant to recruit additional staff.
Backlogs of work also increased slightly last month, with some panelists confirming payment delays from customers, while others claiming that softer new order growth reduced pressure on capacity, the report said.
The accelerating new orders supported firms to boost their purchasing activity and inventory holdings in July. In both cases, the report highlighted, noting that rates of expansion eased.
The non-oil private sector’s business activity in the UAE is expected to maintain growth in over the coming year, backed by “improving market conditions, higher new orders, and the Expo 2020”.
“Non-oil companies remained optimistic regarding the outlook, with sentiment little-changed from that seen in the previous month,” the report concluded.
