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  • 12-04-23

    Dubai's Non-Oil Private Sector Sees Fastest Growth Since September 2022

    (MENAFN) Dubai's non-oil private sector experienced significant growth in March 2022, with the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) hitting 55.5, its highest level since September that year, according to S&P Global. The rating agency's latest PMI report for Dubai highlighted that stronger growth in output, employment, and stocks of purchases were the key drivers of this sharp improvement in non-oil business conditions. The PMI index indicates non-oil private sector growth when readings are above 50, while those below 50 indicate contraction. In February, the PMI for Dubai stood at 54.1, while it was 54.5 and 55.2 in January and December 2022, respectively.

    The report states that the Dubai PMI picked up for the first time in three months in March. David Owen, a senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, attributes this rise to companies reporting greater efforts to build supply-side strength, in light of a further rapid expansion in activity levels. He also notes that subsequent increases in staffing levels and inventories of materials and components were the sharpest seen in around five years, allowing firms to increase their output to the greatest extent for six months.

    While the report highlights strong growth in non-oil private sector, it also notes that wholesale and retail growth reached a 14-month low in March. The same was true for the travel and tourism industry, which lost momentum from its post-COVID peaks in 2022. This slowdown in new business growth indicates that demand growth is continuing to weaken from its post-COVID peak, with notable slippage seen in the wholesale and retail and travel & tourism sectors. David Owen believes that this suggests that rapid activity growth may not be sustained, which is reflected in a slight drop in future output expectations.

    However, the report also highlights strong output expansion in March for construction firms in Dubai, the largest since September. New orders rose sharply, along with accelerating employment growth. Despite this positive development, the level of positivity among business owners was down slightly in March compared to February. Only 10 percent of survey panelists projected growth of output over the next 12 months.

    MENAFN12042023000045014228ID1105988567

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