Dubai’s non-oil business sectors returned to expansion in December 2020: PMI

Dubai’s non-oil business sectors returned to expansion in December 2020: PMI

A strong rise in business activity and a faster increase in new work have prompted Dubai's non-oil private sector businesses to return to growth at the end of 2020, according to the latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data from IHS Markit. However, employment numbers continued to fall as expectations for 2021 were still subdued.The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose above the 50.0 no-change mark in December, posting 51.0 (from 49.0 in November) to indicate a modest expansion in the non-oil economy, and the first seen for three months.Non-oil private sector businesses in Dubai saw a renewed fall in activity in November, as the impact of COVID-19 appeared to worsen amid rising global cases.Cost pressures were weak in December, supporting a further drop in selling prices, albeit at the slowest rate since May. The improvement in the headline PMI was largely driven by a sharp rise in business activity in December, after Dubai non-oil firms curtailed output midway through the final quarter. The rate of expansion was the second-quickest throughout 2020, bettered only by July's uptick, IHS Markit noted.David Owen, Economist at IHS Markit, said: "An increase in output and new orders led to a renewed