Dubai (Reuters) – A surge in new orders led to the fastest pace of growth in non-oil business activity in the United Arab Emirates in more than four years, a survey showed on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index jumped to 57.7 in October, from 56.7 in September, far above the 50.0 mark signalling growth in activity, and the highest level since June 2019.
Driven by strong demand, new clients and more project work, the new orders sub-index rose to 65.2 in October, also the highest since June 2019, from 64.7 the previous month.
Foreign new orders also advanced at the fastest pace in four years.
“Strong economic conditions in the non-oil sector extended into the final quarter of the year, as October PMI results signalled a new recent record for new business growth,” said David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“Rising at the fastest rate since June 2019, new order volumes provided additional support to output which continued to rise markedly.”
The output sub-index advanced to a four-month high in October, rising to 63.1 from 62.8 the previous month.
The UAE’s non-oil GDP growth surged 5.9% in the first six months of the year, vastly outperforming overall growth, following the Gulf state’s push to diversify income sources.
