Dubai: Non-oil sector indicates strong improvement in business conditions

Dubai: Non-oil sector indicates strong improvement in business conditions

Dubai-based non-oil firms indicated a stronger improvement in business conditions in February, according to the latest PMI survey data, after the Omicron wave of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a fresh slowdown in demand at the turn of the year.

Business activity continued to expand sharply, while there was a softening of input price pressures.

However, employment continued to expand only slightly, and firms continued to highlight logistical challenges amid the pandemic.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbed to 54.1 in February, after easing to a four-month low of 52.6 in January, to signal a strong improvement in operating conditions in the non-oil economy. The 1.5-point rise was largely driven by the New Orders Index, with only small fluctuations seen in the other four components of the PMI.

The headline IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers’ Index is derived from individual diffusion indices which measure changes in output, new orders, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchased goods.

Non-oil companies saw a sharper increase in new orders midway through the opening quarter, which was widely attributed to an upturn in client demand and a recovery in economic conditions following a brief period of disruption from the Omicron wave. In fact,