Saudi non-oil growth will be 4% in 2023 – PMI

Saudi non-oil growth will be 4% in 2023 – PMI

Saudi Arabia will see non-oil growth of 4% in 2023 after 2022 ended with robust market demand and new business intakes during December.

The kingdom’s purchasing manager’s index (PMI) dropped during the month from a seven-year high of 58.5 in November to 56.9 in December, but still remained far above the threshold of 50.0 which indicates business expansion in the non-oil sector.

The kingdom’s Riyad Bank report for the month showed that the country closed the year with the strongest rise in job numbers in five years, and the fastest rise in selling charges since March 2022, but purchasing growth slowed in the last month of the year.

Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank, said the private sector’s strength could be attributed to ongoing reforms under Saudi’s Vision 2030.

“We see operating conditions remaining favourable in December, characterised by rapid growth in the non-oil activities and a robust labour market by the end of 2022, with both jobs and wages having far more momentum than previously thought,” he said.

"The increase in interest rates has been offset by the rapid growth which is expected to be near 9% for 2022.

“This significant growth pushed prices even further in the service sector, pointing to an inflationary