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Saudi non-oil economy remains strong in November – PMI

Saudi non-oil economy remains strong in November – PMI
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Riyadh – Mubasher: The headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of Saudi Arabia signalled 56.9 in November, down from 57.7 in October to a three-month low, according to IHS Markit report on Sunday.

November reading showed strong improvement in the non-oil private sector economy. Meanwhile, business activity in the Kingdom accelerated at the highest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Economist at IHS Markit, David Owen, said: "Another key indicator - backlogs of work - signalled that the capacity gap registered since February 2020 had narrowed to its smallest so far, suggesting that higher demand levels are starting to put pressure on businesses.”

Foreign demand grew last November, backed by rising new export orders that reached the greatest extent since May this year.

Owen noted that employment growth remained mild, attributing this to companies preferring to maintain their workforces while being less optimistic about future activity.

The economist added: “The threat of future COVID-19 waves continued to promote a cautious outlook, leading to a decline in the number of firms expecting output to expand over the next year."

IHS Markit report unveiled that several Saudi firms remained cautious about how strong economic recovery could be in addition to possible future waves of the virus.