Saudi PMI rises to 56.3 points in September

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The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, rose to 56.3 points in September 2024.

This was the highest reading since May and signaled a further acceleration in non-oil private sector growth.

On a monthly basis, the rise was attributed to a sharper expansion in output and new orders, in addition to a tightening of supply conditions. Growth was robust overall and widespread across the monitored segments of the non-oil economy.

Amid a rise in business activity, survey respondents cited higher demand and the approval of new projects.

Non-oil private sector business conditions strengthened in September, as the rate of activity growth accelerated and sales momentum improved. Firms reported the fastest upturn in new work since May, following a weaker sequence of growth earlier in the third quarter.

Improving business conditions supported a solid increase in employment, although difficulties finding skilled staff led to capacity shortfalls. At the same time, concerns regarding increased competition underscored a softening of future output expectations, as well as a third successive reduction in selling charges.

Meanwhile, input stocks remained healthy, encouraging some firms to loosen procurement efforts.

The report pointed out that the non-oil private sector witnessed a noticeable acceleration in the growth of new orders during September, reaching its highest level in four months.

The new order volumes increased due to improving domestic demand, new clients and promotional efforts.

Although new export orders also grew, the increase was mild compared to that of total sales, the report said.

The PMI is a weighted average of the following five indices: