Non-oil business activity in Dubai showed a marked expansion midway through the third quarter of this year, driven by robust demand and rising new orders, according to a report released by S&P Global Monday.
The S&P Global Dubai Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — which measures changes in output, new orders, employment, suppliers’ delivery times, and stocks of purchased goods — has registered 55 in August, against 55.7 in the previous month.
Although the headline index declined from July's level, it was firmly above the 50-mark, thus signaling a robust upturn in business conditions, the report noted.
Further, the headline index reading, which dropped for the second month in a row, was the lowest since February this year.
“The latest upturn widely encouraged firms to increase their headcounts, leading to the joint-fastest rise in employment since November 2015,” the report said.
A major reason for the upturn, according to the report, was another sharp increase in new work during August, amid reports of higher client demand, growing tourism, and ongoing price promotions.
The report also noted that sector-wise data showed a notable slowdown at wholesale and retail companies while construction activity continued to rise sharply, although a waning of new work growth indicates a weaker picture for the sector's outlook.
“While the expansion in business activity appears to have reached its peak, it is still running well above trend, boosted by strong new order inflows and robust economic conditions,” David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said in the report.
“Employment levels increased at the joint-fastest rate since late-2015, while confidence in the 12-month outlook continued to run above the trend seen over the past decade."
