Riyadh – Mubasher: The headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of Saudi Arabia surged to 57.7 in August 2022 from 56.3 last July, marking the highest growth in 10 months (10M) since October 2021.
The index also exceeded its series average of 56.8, backed by faster growth in production, new orders, and stocks of purchases, according to the S&P Global PMI’s latest data.
Meanwhile, the Saudi non-oil output continued to grow midway through the third quarter (Q3) of 2022, driven by a rise in new business inflows which were supported by improving demand conditions.
Employment levels increased for the fifth consecutive month in August after businesses made extra efforts to boost staffing capacity. However, the rate of job creation was fractionally slower than last July amid a solid drop in backlogs.
David Owen, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, noted: “The Saudi Arabia PMI pointed to added resilience in the non-oil economy during August, as business activity and sales continued to rise sharply despite reports of mounting global economic distress.”
Owen added: “Total new orders rose at the quickest pace since October last year, driven by improving client demand, higher exports, and a broad recovery in economic conditions since the pandemic.”
He elaborated: “Businesses were also helped by a slight softening of input price pressures, allowing some firms to cut output charges in a bid to attract higher sales."
