Dubai: The UAE’s non-oil private sector managed to pick up some momentum in November after three excruciatingly slow months, helped on by new project activity.
The new orders were brought on by “successful marketing initiatives, including price discounting”. Companies lowered their charges on average for the 13th straight month.
“Stronger demand also contributed to faster job creation and a marked rise in purchasing activity,” says the latest PMI (purchasing managers index) survey from Emirates NBD and HIS Markitl.
In fact, jobs growth rose to a four-month high, with a number of businesses requiring extra manpower in order to cater for new projects. Backlogs of work rose for the eleventh month in a row.
The Index rose for the first time in four months during November and gave a reading of 54.2, up from October’s six-month low of 53.3. The latest reading is also above the 2016 average of 53.8 and “consistent with a robust improvement in business conditions”.
“The November PMI data is encouraging as it continues to point to strong activity growth in the UAE, even as external demand remains soft,” said Khatija Haque, Head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD. “However, the environment remains competitive, and margins continue to be squeezed by rising input costs and declining output prices.”
Output increased sharply last month, but at a slightly weaker pace than in October. On the price front, charges continued to fall in spite of higher purchasing costs.
Data showed that growth of new business was central to the rise in the headline index. The rate of expansion picked up from the relatively subdued pace seen in the preceding two months, and was marked overall. Surveyed firms attributed higher
The rise in total new work was hampered by another fall in new orders from abroad during November. The rate of decline eased to the weakest in the current five-month downturn, however, and was only modest overall.