UAE business outlook stays robust on 4-year high demand level

UAE business outlook stays robust on 4-year high demand level

A worker bottles perfumes at a factory in Dubai. A considerable uplift in new business intakes supported a robust increase in activity across the non-oil sector in October. — File photo

Published: Sun 5 Nov 2023, 4:06 PM Last updated: Sun 5 Nov 2023, 4:11 PM

Business optimism remains robust in the UAE as the non-oil sector recorded a four-year high demand levels in October, the latest PMI survey data shows.

Confidence in the 12-month outlook remains elevated on sharply rising new order intakes supporting a marked increase in activity, as well as further additions to purchasing and staffing levels, S&P’s survey report said.

“At the same time, rising fuel and material prices underlined a sharp increase in business costs in October, as inflationary pressures accelerated to a 15-month high. With this in mind, firms raised their own selling prices for the first time in a year-and-a-half, albeit only fractionally as discounting efforts remained wide,” it said.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers – a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy – was up from 56.7 in September to the highest level at 57.7 since June 2019, indicating a robust improvement in