Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: The data of the Purchasing Managers’ Index study in the UAE indicated (SMEs) to another strong expansion in the non-oil economy in March 2022.
The main Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the UAE issued by the agencyS&P Global, today, Tuesday, scored 54.8 points for the second consecutive month in March 2022, according to Al-Roya newspaper.
The growth rate of new business in non-oil UAE companies has not changed since February, and remained close to the post-pandemic high recorded in November 2021.
Production and new business continued to increase sharply, although companies restricted purchasing activity due to input costs rising at the fastest rate since November 2018.
The strong rise in demand led to a significant increase in business activity during the month of March, with nearly a quarter of companies participating in the study citing production growth.
Committee members stated that marketing efforts and new product releases were generally supportive of activity.
Cost pressures accelerated to a 40-month high as companies saw particularly strong increases in fuel and raw materials prices due to supply concerns related to the war in Ukraine.
Input cost inflation was faster than the series average and was robust.
Efforts to pass higher costs on to customers in some companies have resulted in the rate of decline in average production prices being the lowest in the current 8-month downturn.
The sharp rise in input prices slowed the growth of input purchases in March, as companies sought to reduce cost burdens and drew on existing stocks to meet customer demand.
The recent surge in purchases was strong, but much weaker than what we saw in February.
Inventories of purchases stabilized at the end of the first quarter of the year at the same time, and employment levels in non-oil producing companies rebounded, rising for the tenth consecutive month.
However, despite accelerating to a 3-month high, the rate of job creation remained marginal, as some efforts to reduce labor costs affected overall hiring activity.
Some companies indicated that previous shipping delays contributed to the increase in incomplete orders, although current data indicates an improvement in supplier delivery times that was the fastest repeat rate since July 2020.
The data monitored that UAE companies remained confident of increasing activity over the next year in March, and many of them pointed to the recent improvement in sales and general economic conditions.
The Central Bank of the Emirates confirmed yesterday monday The UAE’s non-oil GDP grew by 7.8% in the fourth quarter of last year as a result of the easing of restrictions on international transport and travel.
The Central Bank clarified in the quarterly review report for the fourth quarter of 2021 that the growth of non-oil GDP for the year 2021 as a whole reached 3.8%, while the total oil production contracted by 1.4% last year, and the GDP growth for the past year reached 2.3%.
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