Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE’s non-oil private sector activity accelerated to the greatest extent in June since the beginning of this year, helped by strong inflows of new business and output growth.

The headline seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which is an indicator of the operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy, levelled up to 57.1 points in June versus 56.5 in May.

Output growth in the UAE non-oil private sector recorded seven months high, while order books grew on the back of solid domestic and global demand, according to a report sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by IHS Markit.

“The headline PMI rose to a 2018-high in June, reflecting a sharp increase in both export and domestic new orders as well as output,” head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD Khatija Haque commented.

Also, backlogs of work rose in June, due to the increase in new business and the decline in Job creation, the report found.

“In spite of this strengthening demand, there was almost no job growth or increase in wages in the UAE’s private sector last month, as firms continued to focus on efficiency and cost containment,” Haque said.

Costs paid by non-oil private sector companies went up in last months, albeit in a slower pace, while input prices’ inflation recorded three-month low, Emirates NBD revealed.

“Easing staff cost and raw material price inflation contributed to lower overall input cost inflation in June. Meanwhile, price discounting continued for the second month running, albeit to a softer extent than that seen in May,” the report said.

Positive sentiment grew in the UAE non-oil private sector in June, as a result of the business investment, marketing initiatives and the anticipation of an economic growth.