Non-oil private sector activity continues its boom in UAE

How the UAE’s non-oil private sector performed in November: Purchasing manager Indices (PMI) tracking non-oil energy sectors in the UAE were on the rise in November on the back of robust demand conditions and competitive pricing, according to S&P Global’s UAE PMI (pdf) released on Friday. The UAE held above the 50.0 mark threshold, driven by an influx in new orders and output rates. The country’s headline PMI grew slightly to 54.2 in November, up from 54.1 in October.

REMEMBER- The all-important 50.0 mark is the threshold separating contraction from growth. Anything above 50 denotes expansion, while anything below indicates contraction.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)

Business output and activity levels rose due to the sharpest increase in new order volumes since August. This rise in demand occurred due to businesses acquiring new customers through marketing initiatives and price reductions.

Though employment is still on a growth trajectory, elevated capacity pressures caused its growth to “slip to a 31-month low” and input purchases to increase at the “slowest pace since July 2023,” according to S&P Senior Economist David Owen.

Output forecasts saw a slight improvement over the 18-month low recorded in September, causing companies to hesitate to increase input stocks and directly aimed new purchases at addressing output needs.

Input price inflation steadied, holding at October’s six-month low. With that said, costs still increased at a higher pace than the long-run trend, due to growing prices of material, tech, fuel, machinery, and maintenance. Firms continued to offer discounted prices despite higher costs.

Backlogs are still piling up despite logistical improvements: Several businesses didn’t accurately anticipate their future activity growth, so the increase in orders caused delays in the completion schedule, causing a rise in backlogs. However, supplier delivery times improved, leading to a minor increase in overall inventories, with new purchases being consumed by present output requirements.

Business sentiment leans toward uncertainty as confidence levels in future activity reached its “second lowest” since early 2023, Owen said. Meanwhile, experts are arguing that markets are becoming increasingly crowded, subduing pricing power.