Saudi PMI rises to 58.5 points in November

The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly the S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, accelerated to 58.5 points in November 2022 for the second straight month.

The PMI pointed to another robust improvement in business conditions across the non-oil economy in November, underscored by a sharp expansion in business activity that was the fastest since August 2015.

New order growth rose to a 14-month high, leading to a sharper rise in purchasing activity, but falling backlogs and strong capacity levels meant that job creation remained mild.

Meanwhile, non-oil businesses saw a pick-up in inflationary pressures, as average input costs and prices charged rose to the greatest degree since July.

On the other hand, the rate of sales growth picked up to the sharpest in over a year. As well as strong domestic conditions, firms saw the quickest increase in new export business since November 2015.

As a result, output levels expanded at the strongest rate for more than seven years, with growth remaining sharp in each of the manufacturing, construction, wholesale & retail and services sectors, the report said.

Rising demand encouraged non-oil businesses to expand their purchasing in November. Input buying rose at the second-fastest rate since August 2015, leading to a robust increase in inventories. Stock additions were helped by a stronger improvement in supplier performance.