Saudi PMI down to 58.7 pts in March

04/04/2023 Argaam Special
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag


The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly the S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, fell from eight-year high to 58.7 points in March 2023. 

 

Latest data indicated another rapid expansion in the non-oil private sector at the end of the first quarter of 2023, despite pulling back from February's near eight-year record. Output and new business continued to rise, supporting further growth in employment and purchases.

 

The reading signaled a marked improvement in operating conditions, and one that was among the strongest seen since early 2015, the bank noted in its report.

 

Non-oil companies particularly noted a sharp uplift in new business intakes in March, as improving market conditions and increased development spending helped boost demand.

 

Businesses also looked to expand their inventories of inputs, leading to another sharp increase in purchasing activity. Consequently, stock levels rose at the sharpest rate since August 2022. Firms were aided by a strong improvement in supplier performance, which was the greatest in almost a year, the report added. 

 

Saudi Arabia PMI since 2019*

Month

Index (Points)

Change (Points)

Change (%)

January 2019

56.2

 --

--

February

56.6

0.4

0.7%

March

56.8

0.2

0.4%

April

56.8

--

--

May

57.3

0.5

0.9%

June

57.4

0.1

0.2%

July

56.6

(0.8)

(1.4 %)

August

57.0

0.4

0.7%

September

57.3

0.3

0.5%

October

57.8

0.5

0.9%

November

58.3

0.5

0.9%

December

56.9

(1.4)

(2.4 %)

January 2020

54.9

(2.0)

(3.5 %)

February

52.5

(2.4)

(4.4 %)

March

42.4

(10.1)

(19.2 %)

April

44.4

2.0

4.7%

May

48.1

3.7

8.3%

June

47.7

(0.4)

(0.8 %)

July

50.0

2.3

4.8%

August

48.8

(1.2)

(2.4 %)

September

50.7

1.9

3.9%

October

51.0

0.3

0.6%

November

54.7

3.7

7.3%

December

57.0

2.3

4.2%

January 2021

57.1

0.1

0.2%

February

53.9

(3.2)

(5.6 %)

March

53.3

(0.6)

(1.1 %)

April

55.2

1.9

3.6%

May

56.4

1.2

2.2%

June

56.4

--

--

July

55.8

(0.6)

(1.1 %)

August

54.1

(1.7)

(3.0 %)

September

58.6

4.5

8.3%

October

57.7

(0.9)

(1.5 %)

November

56.9

(0.8)

(1.4 %)

December

53.9

(3.0)

(5.3 %)

January 2022

53.2

(0.7)

(1.3 %)

February

56.2

+3.0

+5.6%

March

56.8

+0.6

+1.1%

April

55.7

(1.1)

(1.9 %)

May

55.7

--

--

June

57.0

+1.3 

+2.3%

July

56.3

(0.7)

(1.2 %)

August

57.7

+1.4

+2.5%

September

56.6

(1.1)

(1.9 %)

October

57.2

+0.6

+1.1%

November

58.5

+1.3

+2.3%

December

56.9

(1.6)

(2.7 %)

January 2023

58.2

+1.3

+2.3%

February

59.8

+1.6

+2.7%

March

58.7

(1.1)

(1.8%)

*Change on a monthly basis

 

 

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

 

Riyad Bank PMI Details

Subindex

Percentage 

New orders

30 %

Output

25 %

Employment

20 %

Suppliers’ delivery times

15 %

Stocks of purchases

10 %

Total

100 %

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