Dubai firms record robust Nov upturn

Dubai’s non-oil companies witnessed continued upswing in business, albeit growth moderated to nine-month low during November, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

The month also saw modest increases in staffing and inventories amid slower rises in output and new orders, S&P Global Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index report said. Firms continued to see little change in their input costs and reduced their output charges, although to a lesser degree than in October.

The headline PMI index ticked lower for the third successive month in November, dropping to 54.9 from 56.0 in October. Despite easing to the lowest since April, the index was indicative of a robust improvement in the health of the sector.

"The Dubai non-oil economy enjoyed another robust expansion in November, but there are increasing signs that the latest phase of growth in the emirate has now peaked,” said David Owen, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The PMI survey that covers the Dubai non-oil private sector economy, with additional sector data published for travel & tourism, wholesale & retail and construction, dropped to the lowest since April, as output and new orders both rose at the slowest rates for nine months.

“While firms continued to enjoy increased demand, the global economic slowdown has begun to limit spending among clients, while some companies found that tight competition continued to make sales growth challenging. On the plus side, inflationary pressures have clearly softened from earlier in the year, with firms commenting that higher fuel prices were largely offset by falling supplier charges for raw materials," Owen said.

According to the survey, business activity mainly rose due to a further increase in new work, with some panellists mentioning progress on current contracts and the positive impact of sports events such as the Fifa World Cup.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com