Dubai’s non-oil economy strengthened in September as IHS
Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose for the first time in four
months, at 52.6, as reported by Khaleej Times.
The index’s reading was at 51.7 in August.
However, the latest figure was still among the lowest recorded over the past
three years, signalling a relatively modest improvement in business conditions
at non-oil companies. The index is derived from individual diffusion indices
which measure changes in output, new orders, employment, suppliers’ delivery
times and stocks of purchased goods. The survey covers the Dubai non-oil
private sector economy, with additional sector data published for travel and
tourism, wholesale and retail, and construction.
New order growth at Dubai firms softened over
the course of September, to indicate the fourth successive monthly slowdown in
demand, while sales increased at a solid pace overall as a number of panelists
mentioned that strong competition once again limited new orders from clients.
The survey results found that output volumes
increased at a slower rate than those seen earlier in the year. That said, the
pace of expansion was faster than in August, in part due to some firms boosting
their marketing activity. Attention was also directed at reducing outstanding
business, which fell for the first time since January 2016. The overall
contraction was only marginal though.
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