Diversification In Non-Oil Sectors Helping Dubai Economy

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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.