UAE business activity in non-oil private sector has increased, hitting an all-time high this October, shows the latest HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index. The development is attributed to the impressive rise of output and new orders.
Even though, in September, the business activity growth in the United Arab Emirates fell to its lowest point in four months, now demonstrates much stronger performance. The index for services and manufacturing sectors increased to 61.2 this October. This is the highest it has reached since the first edition of the UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index, which was released in the summer of 2009. Compared to September 2014, this is a rise of 3.6 points.
According to the report, one particularly worrying finding is the increase in price pressures seen in October. Nevertheless, in more general terms, the economic growth is on the rise.
Also, the report noted that UAE’s economic gain is rather surprising, since oil prices have witnessed a decrease not only in the UAE, but in other emerging markets as well.
As it was already mentioned, increasing output is one of the factors that have triggered this positive new tendency. The output growth of companies in the United Arab Emirates has also reached record levels. In October, it was measured at 66.1, compared to the 63.2 that were seen in September 2014. The level of new orders, too, hit an all-time high of 69.9 points.
Job creation in the country’s non-oil private sector has also witnessed a record rise. In October, its growth was estimated at 56.1 points, which is 3.5 points higher than in September. According to the index, the percentage of UAE companies hiring new employees has increased by nearly 17%.
Despite that, UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index also reports that new export orders continued to be on the slide. As a result, in October, they reached 57.4, which is their lowest level in nine months.
