Hina Javed Malik
S&P Global’s report on the UAE‘s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) states that Dubai’s non-oil business sector experienced its fastest growth rate since September 2022. March’s PMI was 55.5, up from 54.1 in February, indicating sector expansion.
Additionally, multi-year records in inventory growth and job creation were highlighted in the report. However, the S&P noted a slowing growth rate to a 14-month low despite the significant increase in new orders.
In addition, the primary contributors to Dubai’s non-oil sector’s improvement were the rise in employment, output, and purchase stocks. From a low of 54.1 in February, Dubai’s PMI increased to 55.5 in March.
David Owen, a Financial specialist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, expressed that the expansion in the PMI was because of organizations’ endeavors to reinforce their stock side in light of the fast development in activity levels. This suggests that businesses are taking steps to maintain their momentum and prepare for future expansion.
The data also showed that Dubai’s construction firms saw a significant increase in output, the highest since September, as a result of an increase in new orders in March.
The fastest acceleration in job creation, inventory, and employment growth since January 2018 was the result of this. To meet the necessities of new and progressing projects, organizations purchased more unrefined substances, making their feedback stocks develop at the quickest pace since May 2018.
Since the record set 3.5 years ago in February, vendor efforts to improve supplier delivery times have largely failed, with only slight improvements observed.
In addition, prices for construction materials have gone up, forcing businesses to offer discounts in order to maintain sales. However, with only 10% of survey respondents anticipating output growth over the next year, the outlook for future activity is not encouraging.
