Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), formerly S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, fell to 57.5 points in November 2023.
The index indicated a significant improvement in the Saudi non-oil private sector but attributed the decline in the main index to a lower rate of employment and inventory growth as well as a sharp drop in delivery times, Argaam reported.
According to the report, the index continued to signal a rapid expansion in the non-oil private sector in November, despite indications that price pressures accelerated to their highest levels in nearly a year and a half, Argaam said.
Higher raw material prices led to a continuous increase in corporate sales prices, but demand remained strong and new business flows rose at the highest rate since June as companies acquired new customers and increased investment spending.
The new orders index recorded its highest reading in five months, and new orders continued to rise significantly as companies highlighted improved market conditions, customer numbers and investment spending, according to Argaam.
This rise came despite weak foreign demand as the latest data showed a decline in new export orders for the third time in four months.
The index showed the outlook for companies for the next 12 months improved significantly in November, the strongest since June, amid widespread hopes that new business flows will remain strong and lead to increased business activity.
The PMI is a weighted average of five indices namely new orders (30 percent), output (25 percent), employment (20 percent), suppliers’ delivery times (15 percent) and stocks of purchases (10 percent)