UAE - Mubasher: The IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to 52.6 in January from 55.3 in December, reflecting a slowdown in the growth of Dubai's non-oil private sector economy due to the Omicron wave.
Although the index retreated for the first time in four months, the reading was above the 50 neutral mark for the fourteenth month in a row to show a solid improvement in business conditions, according to a press release on Wednesday.
Dubai continued to record a sharp increase in the production levels, driven by the upturn in economic conditions and improvement in the construction sector, which was the joint-strongest since mid-2019.
However, the emirate's wholesale and retail and travel and tourism sectors slowed down.
Meanwhile, new orders went up after registering a remarkable growth in December, and business confidence retreated to an eight-month low.
The Economist at IHS Markit, David Owen, said: "Firms showed additional signs of strained capacity as delayed freight arrivals and rising inflationary pressures limited stock levels and led to a further rise in backlogs of work. Higher cost burdens translated into a much softer and only marginal reduction in selling charges."
Owen added: "Going forward, Dubai businesses expect market conditions to continue to improve as the pandemic hopefully has a more limited impact through 2022."
