Saudi non-oil sector maintains growth as PMI drops in November: IHS Markit

Saudi non-oil sector maintains growth as PMI drops in November: IHS Markit

DUBAI: Strong demand and modest price pressures are pushing business activity to rise Saudi Arabia, a latest IHS Market report showed, indicating a “strong growth momentum” for the Kingdom’s non-oil sector. The new Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report said business activity rose “at one of the fastest rates since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.” This is despite the index dropping from 57.7 in October to 56.9 in November, which the report still said was “in line with the average recorded over the 12-year series.” “Despite slipping to a three-month low, new business growth was rapid overall, whilst activity expanded at one of the quickest rates since the start of the pandemic,” David Owen, an economist at the IHS Markit said. The fall was due to a slowdown in new orders, which fell for the second month in a row from September’s seven-year high.