Dubai: New business growth slows in January

Dubai: New business growth slows in January

Businesses in the emirate see market conditions continuing to improve in 2022

dmcc, dubai expats, dubai business, dubai work laws, dubai labour laws, uae visa

Published: Wed 9 Feb 2022, 8:48 AM

Growth in Dubai's non-oil private sector economy was quelled by the Omicron wave of Covid-19 in January, as the latest PMI data signalled a much weaker rise in new business following December's 29-month high.

Supply chain challenges and price pressures also persisted, although firms continued to see a strong recovery in activity following looser stringency measures.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) decreased for the first time in four months, from 55.3 in December to 52.6 in January. The index was nonetheless above the 50.0 neutral mark for the fourteenth consecutive month, indicating a solid upturn in business conditions across the non-oil private sector.

Output levels continued to rise at a sharp pace during January, as businesses commented on a further improvement in economic conditions from the pandemic. The expansion was led by another marked upturn in construction output, which was the joint-strongest since mid-2019. At the same time, slower expansions in the wholesale and retail and travel and tourism sectors meant that the overall increase in non-oil activity was