Saudi Arabia’s purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.5 in April, indicating a modest return to growth in its non-oil economy. The kingdom’s private sector PMI had fallen into negative territory in March.
Domestic sales and government largesse are driving the upturn, but activity is still affected by supply chain disruptions and businesses deferring spending. The former meant input costs rose in April at their fastest rate on record, according to the Riyad Bank survey. New export orders also declined at the quickest pace in the survey’s 17-year history.
The UAE is seeing the same trends of rising costs, nervous clients, and declining export orders. Business activity there has grown throughout the war, but the pace has now slowed for the past two months. The PMI survey for the UAE came in at 52.1 points for April.