Growth in UAE’s non-oil sector near three-year low in July

The United Arab Emirates’ non-oil private sector expanded at its slowest pace in almost three years in July, a survey showed on Monday, with both output and new order growth easing.

The seasonally-adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 53.7 in July from 54.6 in June, the lowest since September 2021, and below its long-run average, although still above the 50.0 breakeven mark, signalling expansion.

“The drop in the UAE PMI is a further signal that non-oil sector growth is on a downwards trend in 2024,” said David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, adding a key challenge was capacity constraints and growing backlogs.

New order growth eased to a three-month low, with the sub index falling to 57.5 in July from 58.8 in June, but firmly in expansion territory, as both domestic and international demand conditions remained favourable.

The pace of output growth weakened further, while price inflation accelerated, with the index for input prices hitting a two-year high.

“That said, overall the PMI suggests that the non-oil sector is expanding solidly and could be strengthened if companies start to get on top of their workloads,” Owen said.