The non-oil private sector growth in the UAE took a hit, reaching a 1-year low in January, according to the latest survey from S&P Global. The survey showed that while local businesses remained in good health, the decline in growth was due to weakened global economic conditions.
The S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 54.1 in January, the lowest reading in a year, but still demonstrated improvement in business conditions for non-oil companies.
According to David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, while non-oil sector growth is slow, it still stands strong compared to the global economic slowdown at the end of 2022. However, weak global conditions took a toll on export demand, leading to a decrease in foreign sales in January.
In the survey, new order inflows in the non-oil sector increased to a 3-month high, but export orders declined at the fastest rate since June 2021.
Overall, the UAE non-oil sector continues to show resilience despite the decline in growth, and businesses remain in good health.
