Saudi Private Sector Sees Expansion in Production, Purchasing Activity

  • Date: 06-Apr-2021
  • Source: Asharq AL-awsat
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Private Sector Sees Expansion in Production, Purchasing Activity

The Saudi production sector continues to recover from the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

An international index revealed on Monday that the commercial conditions in the non-oil-producing private sector in Saudi Arabia continued to improve at the end of the first quarter of 2021.

According to the index, companies continued to record expansions in production and procurement and stability in the number of employees.

A press release by IHS Markit said that the headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell from 53.9 in February to 53.3 in March, indicating a slightly softer, but still relatively solid upturn in the performance of the non-oil private sector economy.

It added that the index has fallen 3.8 points from its recent peak in January, pointing that the recovery from COVID-19 has lost some momentum over the first quarter.

The report noted that business activity expanded at a slower pace in March, although the latest upturn was still sharp overall. IHS Markit quoted several firms as saying that ongoing projects and efforts to run down backlogs reinforced output. This led to a steep drop in outstanding work and the quickest since last June, according to the report.

Moreover, the report said that employment