DUBAI (Reuters) – Growth in the non-oil private sector in the United Arab Emirates slowed for a second consecutive month in December, while output growth slid 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 downward movements in three of the PMI’s largest components, with output and new business growth both easing to 15-month lows, whilst employment rose at the softest rate in eight months,” said David Owen, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“While domestic demand conditions are holding up relatively strong, weakness in the global economy led to a first decrease in new export business since August 2021.”
Although the output subindex continued to indicate a sharp expansion in non-oil private sector activity, it eased to 58.8 in December from 59.9 in the previous month.
The new orders subindex fell to 55.5 from 55.7 in November and the employment index also eased, falling to 50.6 last month from 51.5 in November.
“Job numbers at non-oil firms in the UAE continued to increase in the final month of the year, thereby extending the current run of growth that began in May. That said, the latest expansion in staffing was the weakest seen in this period and only marginal, with the vast majority of respondents keeping employment stable,” the survey said.
Looking ahead, a slowing in domestic conditions and worries over the global economy weighed on sentiment in December, the survey noted, with less than 7% of companies giving a positive prediction for 2023.
(Reporting by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
