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DUBAI, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Growth in the United Arab Emirates’ non-oil private sector slowed for a second straight month in December, while output growth slipped to a 15-month low, a survey showed on Wednesday .
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 54.2 in December from 54.4 in November, in line with the series average.
“The slowdown reflected declines in the three largest components of the PMI, with output and new business growth falling to 15-month lows, while employment Numbers grew at the slowest pace in eight months.” .
“While domestic demand conditions remained relatively strong, a weakening global economy led to a decline in new export business for the first time since August 2021.”
While the output sub-index continued to point to a sharp expansion in non-oil private sector activity, it eased to 58.8 in December from 59.9 the previous month.
The new orders sub-index fell to 55.5 from 55.7 in November, and the employment index also slowed to 50.6 last month from 51.5 in November.
“Employment at non-oil companies in the UAE continued to increase in the last month of the year, thus continuing the current momentum that started in May. That said, the latest staffing expansion is the weakest of the period, and only marginally, by no means. Most respondents remained in stable employment,” the survey said.
Looking ahead, the survey noted that a slowdown in the domestic economy and concerns about the global economy weighed on sentiment in December, with fewer than 7% of firms making positive forecasts for 2023.
Reporting by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Hugh Lawson
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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