Saudi Arabia: PMI decreases in November
The Riyad Bank non-oil Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 57.5 in November from October’s 58.4. As a result, the index moved closer to the 50.0 no-change threshold, signaling a softer, albeit still strong, improvement in non-oil private-sector operating conditions from the previous month.
Employment growth fell from last month’s nine-year high, pulling down the non-oil PMI in the process. Nonetheless, the non-oil PMI remained at one of the highest levels in the past decade, with job creation remaining solid and output and new orders rising at speedier paces. In addition, business sentiment rose to its highest level since June. Less positively, input inflation rose to an over year high and output inflation turned positive for the first time in three months.