Saudi Arabia to cut oil output ‘as gesture of goodwill’ to markets

Saudi Arabia to cut oil output ‘as gesture of goodwill’ to markets

JEDDAH: A recent surge in new orders has meant business conditions in the Kingdom's non-oil sectors have risen to the highest levels in more than a year.

According to the latest monthly IHS Markit Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the rating for December was 57, up from 54.7 in November, and the highest level since November 2019. Any figure greater than 50 indicates overall improvement in the sector.

"The Saudi Arabian non-oil economy is well on the path to recovery,“ said David Owen, an economist at IHS Markit.

"According to respondents, business activity has been helped by falling COVID-19 case numbers in the fourth quarter of 2020, despite other major economies suffering a second wave. The rollout of a vaccine meanwhile led to increased optimism that demand will strengthen over the coming year,“ Owen added.

The growth in December was attributed to an uptick in new business, which came after improved market demand and price discounting by companies.

The new orders were driven mainly from the domestic market, with just a modest increase in exports from overseas. In addition to new orders for work, survey respondents also reported that ongoing projects were also performing better, leading to a higher overall workload during the last