Saudi PMI stabilizes at 57 points in April, business activity up sharply

05/05/2024 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 S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, kept unchanged at 57 points in April 2024.

 

The non-oil private sector saw a strong operational improvement in April.

 

Meanwhile, business activity hit sharply at the beginning of the second quarter, according to sub-sector data, the wholesale and retail businesses witnessed the strongest expansion in output.

 

The latest data indicated a significant monthly expansion in new orders received by non-oil private sector companies in Saudi Arabia.

 

April witnessed competitive prices, promotional activity, investment, and expansion of customer bases, especially in the local market, which led to an increase in orders during April.

 

Companies raised their purchasing activity on the expectations of continued strong sales performance, which led to higher inventories at a record pace.

 

In addition, cost considerations led to a slight decline in hiring in April, but the overall rate of input price inflation eased to a nine-month low.

 

Expectations of continued improvement in sales performance reinforced growth expectations among surveyed companies.

 

Purchasing activity rose sharply in April, as companies boosted the inventory of raw materials and other items necessary for production to accommodate the high demand. In fact, stocks of purchases increased at a survey-record rate at the start of Q2 2024.

 

Saudi Arabia PMI since 2022*

Month

Index (Points)

Change (Points)

Change (%)

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%)

April

59.6

+0.9

+1.5%

May

58.5

(1.1)

(1.8%)

June

59.6

+1.1

+1.9%

July

57.7

(1.9)

(3.2%)

August

56.6

(1.1)

(1.9%)

September

57.2

+0.6

+1.1%

October

58.4

+1.2

+2.1%

November

57.5

(0.9)

(1.5%)

December

57.5

--

--

January 2024

55.4

(2.1)

(3.7%)

February

57.2

+1.8

+3.2%

March

57.0

(0.2)

(0.3)

April

57.0

--

--

*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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