UAE - Mubasher: The UAE’s seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) hit 56.7 in September 2023, higher than 55 last August, according to the latest S&P Global PMI data.
The 1.7-point rise in the headline index was backed by the New Orders sub-index, which climbed over seven points to its highest level since June 2019.
This index reflected a significant upturn in new order inflows during September, with nearly 38% of survey participants noting a monthly rise against 8% which saw a drop.
A number of businesses registered more clients, which led to stronger economic conditions and lower prices amid competitive pressures.
Last month witnessed a surge in output and confidence, while stronger input buying growth resulted in higher cost pressures. Nonetheless, expansions in both inventories and employment softened.
Non-oil businesses leveraged a further improvement in supply chains, as delivery times shortened to the greatest extent since July 2019.
Overall selling prices continued to plummet in September and the pace of discounting was only modest.
David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, commented: "The UAE PMI recorded its first uptick for three months in September, driven by a much sharper rise in new work intakes than one month ago.”
"Activity growth likewise quickened, though only mildly, and remained weaker than June's recent high. This also marked the first time since May 2021 that the Output Index was behind New Orders, suggesting that businesses did not feel the need to boost activity to such a considerable extent," Owen added.
He underlined: "Supporting this, backlogs of work rose at the softest rate in over two years, while both inventory and staff growth slowed, indicating that firms had sufficient capacity to deal with the influx of new orders."
"Demand growth meanwhile spurred greater purchasing at non-oil firms in September, which acted to quicken the pace of purchase price inflation. Price discounting at businesses continued, albeit to only a modest degree, suggesting that competition had limited pricing strategies," the official noted.
