Saudi Arabia Non-Oil Private Sector Growth Highest Since 2019

(RTTNews) - Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector growth in January was the fastest in over a year, survey results from IHS Markit showed on Wednesday.

The Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 57.1 in January from 57.0 in December. Any reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector. This was the highest reading since November 2019.

New orders increased sharply in January and demand from foreign clients rose to the highest in nearly four years.

Staffing remained subdued in January though both output and new work increased. Employment declined for the tenth time in eleven months. Backlogs of work declined at the softest rate since September last year.

Purchasing activity increased at the fastest rate in thirteen months. Purchase prices and output charges increased in January.

Businesses were confident on the 12-month outlook as they expect the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine to have a positive impact on the economic recovery.

"The country has been helped by low case numbers, while other parts of the world have suffered a spike in infections that risks derailing the upturn in the global economy," IHS Markit economist David Owen said.