Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The non-oil private sector economy in the UAE continued to show resilience in August despite signs of slowing demand, with Dubai emerging as a standout performer.
While new orders rose at the slowest pace since mid-2021, overall business conditions strengthened, output accelerated, and corporate confidence improved — underscoring the underlying momentum in the nation’s diversification drive, reported Khaleej Times. According to the latest S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), the seasonally adjusted UAE headline index inched up to 53.3 in August from July’s 52.9, signalling an overall improvement in operating conditions.
Dubai’s non-oil economy once again delivered robust results, with the emirate’s PMI climbing to 53.6 from 53.5 in July. Companies reported their fastest output growth in seven months, supported by healthy client demand, new projects, and resilient local market conditions. The city also maintained its track record of strong selling activity, though order book growth was slightly softer compared to July.
Across the UAE, new business growth slowed to its weakest level in more than four years. Survey participants cited intensifying competition and supply chain challenges, with some noting delays in clearing goods through customs. Vendor performance showed only marginal improvement — the softest in nearly four years — highlighting pressures on logistics, reported the paper.
In response, firms scaled back their purchases of inputs for the first time since mid-2021. This marked the end of a four-year run of expansion in buying activity, leading to a further drawdown of inventories. Many businesses indicated that weaker sales momentum had reduced their appetite for stock building. Employment trends were broadly positive, with companies modestly increasing staff levels to keep pace with workloads.
The willingness to hire, despite cost pressures, suggested a healthy level of confidence in long-term growth prospects. David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, observed that the UAE’s non-oil private sector is experiencing a period of mixed signals. “Sales growth weakened again in August, easing for the fourth consecutive month and bringing the new orders index down to its lowest level since mid2021,” he said. “The slowdown added to concerns of fading growth momentum and meant that output was increasingly reliant on backlogs of work.”
