Non-energy private sector continues to expand rapidly in July – The Peninsula

Non-energy private sector continues to expand rapidly in July – The Peninsula

Doha: The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data from Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) continued to signal rapid growth in the non-energy private sector in July.

The rates of expansion in total activity, new work and outstanding business all eased slightly compared with June but were still among the fastest registered throughout the survey’s more than five-year history. Headcounts meanwhile rose marginally while sentiment moderated somewhat.

Positively for businesses, overall input prices fell slightly in July while firms continued to raise selling prices. The Qatar PMI indices are compiled from survey responses from a panel of around 450 private sector companies. The panel covers the manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail, and services sectors, and reflects the structure of the non-energy economy according to official national accounts data.

The headline Qatar Financial Centre PMI is a composite single-figure indicator of non-energy private sector performance. It is derived from indicators for new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases.

The PMI remained well within expansion territory in July at 61.5. This eased notably from June’s previous record high but was still among the strongest in the survey, which began in April 2017.

: “Despite correcting from record highs in May and June, latest PMI data