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UAE’s non-oil private sector continued to see strong improvements in business conditions during October, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous month, a survey of businesses showed.
Growth momentum remained above the mid-year trend, driven by a surge in new orders, but job were added at a slower pace.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a composite gauge of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector — slipped from 54.2 in September to 53.8 in October.
David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “The pace of new business growth has recovered well since its low in August, supporting increases in output and purchasing activity.”
Output rose markedly in October due to stronger sales and new project launches. The pace of growth remained above the mid-year average.
Companies also benefited from a slower rise in input costs for the second consecutive month, helping keep output prices largely stable.
However, optimism about future activity weakened, leading to near-stagnant hiring growth. October data showing the slowest rise in job numbers in seven months and only marginally.
“This partly reflected a relatively subdued level of business confidence. In fact, the latest survey revealed that firms were the least optimistic in nearly three years,” said Owen.
Dubai PMI at nine-month high
Dubai’s PMI rose to its highest level since January. At 54.5, the index was up slightly from 54.2 in September on increased new orders and output levels.
Employment rose for the seventh month running, but the rate of job creation was relatively mild.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
