Saudi PMI advances to 55.8 pts in May

The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly S&P Global Saudi Arabia PMI, rose to 55.8 points in May.

The index implied another strong improvement in business conditions across Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector.

Non-oil, private sector companies continued to experience enhanced operating conditions during May, with the pace of improvement accelerating since April. However, it remained weaker than Q1 2025 levels.

The improvement was primarily driven by an upturn in new business activity, which gained momentum amid stronger client demand and heightened business confidence.

Despite slowed output growth, positive expectations for future activity supported a sharp increase in employment during May. Similarly, purchasing activity rose markedly, despite growing caution regarding inventory accumulation. Overall input costs increased significantly; however, competitive pressures led firms to reduce their selling prices.

The new orders sub-index was the only one among the five sub-indices that contributed positively to the PMI in May, while the remaining four sub-indices exerted negative pressure on the overall index trend. The growth in new orders accelerated significantly during the latest survey, reaching a generally sharp pace following a decline to its lowest level in eight months in April.

The surveyed companies attributed the rise in new orders to stronger demand, solid sales performance, industrial development, and new marketing initiatives. Foreign new orders also increased, albeit at the slowest rate in seven months.

*Change on a monthly basis.

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