UAE: Non-oil business activity rises most since June 2019 in October
The S&P Global Non-oil Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 57.7 in October from September’s 56.7. October’s result marked the best reading since June 2019. As a result, the index moved further above the 50.0 no-change threshold, signaling a faster improvement in non-oil private-sector operating conditions compared to the previous month.
Business activity was boosted by the sharpest rise in new orders since June 2019. Respondents to the PMI survey said that demand at home and abroad had risen at rapid rates. This increased activity, in turn, led firms to expand their workforces. Looking at prices, input inflation was the highest since July 2022, while output inflation turned positive for the first time in a year and a half. Finally, business sentiment was the second-highest since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.