Saudi PMI declines to 58.5 pts in May

05/06/2023 Argaam Special

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The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly the S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, dropped to 58.5 points in May 2023. 

The index's two largest components, new orders and output, witnessed a decline, while Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector continued to see a strong improvement in operating conditions in May, as rising market demand led to another steep increase in economic activity.

Demand strength underlined further uplifts in output, employment and purchasing, with staff levels rising at the fastest rate since January 2018. However, a recent run of strong wage pressures meant that firms' output prices rose sharply in May, with the pace of inflation accelerating to the highest in nearly three years.

New order inflows at non-oil private sector businesses continued to rise considerably in May, after growth quickened to its highest in just over eight-and-a-half years in April. The rate of expansion slowed slightly, despite a renewed upturn in sales from foreign clients.

Outlook in Saudi Arabia remained positive in May, with businesses anticipating better market conditions, strong sales and supportive government economic policy to aid growth prospects. However, rising competition meant that firms were not as confident as in April, with sentiment dropping to the lowest in exactly one year.

Saudi Arabia PMI since 2019*

Month

Index (Points)

Change (Points)

Change (%)

January 2019

56.2

 --

--

February

56.6

0.4

0.7%

March

56.8

0.2

0.4%

April

56.8

--

--

May

57.3

0.5

0.9%

June

57.4

0.1

0.2%

July

56.6

(0.8)

(1.4 %)

August

57.0

0.4

0.7%

September

57.3

0.3

0.5%

October

57.8

0.5

0.9%

November

58.3

0.5

0.9%

December

56.9

(1.4)

(2.4 %)

January 2020

54.9

(2.0)

(3.5 %)

February

52.5

(2.4)

(4.4 %)

March

42.4

(10.1)

(19.2 %)

April

44.4

2.0

4.7%

May

48.1

3.7

8.3%

June

47.7

(0.4)

(0.8 %)

July

50.0

2.3

4.8%

August

48.8

(1.2)

(2.4 %)

September

50.7

1.9

3.9%

October

51.0

0.3

0.6%

November

54.7

3.7

7.3%

December

57.0

2.3

4.2%

January 2021

57.1

0.1

0.2%

February

53.9

(3.2)

(5.6 %)

March

53.3

(0.6)

(1.1 %)

April

55.2

1.9

3.6%

May

56.4

1.2

2.2%

June

56.4

--

--

July

55.8

(0.6)

(1.1 %)

August

54.1

(1.7)

(3.0 %)

September

58.6

4.5

8.3%

October

57.7

(0.9)

(1.5 %)

November

56.9

(0.8)

(1.4 %)

December

53.9

(3.0)

(5.3 %)

January 2022

53.2

(0.7)

(1.3 %)

February

56.2

+3.0

+5.6%

March

56.8

+0.6

+1.1%

April

55.7

(1.1)

(1.9 %)

May

55.7

--

--

June

57.0

+1.3 

+2.3%

July

56.3

(0.7)

(1.2 %)

August

57.7

+1.4

+2.5%

September

56.6

(1.1)

(1.9 %)

October

57.2

+0.6

+1.1%

November

58.5

+1.3

+2.3%

December

56.9

(1.6)

(2.7 %)

January 2023

58.2

+1.3

+2.3%

February

59.8

+1.6

+2.7%

March

58.7

(1.1)

(1.8%)

April

59.6

+0.9

+1.5%

May

58.5

(1.1)

(1.8%)

*Change on a monthly basis

 

The PMI is a weighted average of the following five indices: 

Riyad Bank PMI Details

Subindex

New orders

30 %

Output

25 %

Employment

20 %

Suppliers’ delivery times

15 %

Stocks of purchases

10 %

Total

100 %


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