The latest PMI reading rounds off 2021 a strong year for economic growth in the country’s non-oil private sector.
Business activity in the UAE’s non-oil private sector continued to improve in December as a sharp rise in new business and output and a boost from Expo 2020 Dubai combined to round off a strong year for the country’s non-oil economy.
The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers’ index – a gauge designed to give a snapshot of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy – posted 55.6 in December, down only slightly from November’s 29-month high of 55.9.
A reading above the neutral level of 50 indicates expansion while below points to a contraction.
The latest data by IHS Markit underpinned business activity growth at a marked pace throughout the fourth quarter amid the start of Expo 2020 and an easing of restrictions in the Arab world’s second-largest economy.
“The PMI remained close to its recent peak … showing that the benefits to the economy from the Expo 2020 and the loosening of Covid-19 measures had remained strong throughout the final quarter of the year,” David Owen, an economist at IHS Markit, said.
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