Saudi Arabia’s non-oil sector recorded notable growth in August, with the latest economic data showing the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rising to 53.8 points, up from 53.1 points in July. The increase reflects the resilience of the domestic market and its ability to expand amid a supportive economic environment.
اضافة اعلان
Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank, said the improvement in the indicators clearly reflects the continued recovery in market activity. He noted that the pace of output growth accelerated to its strongest level in seven months, bringing overall performance closer to long-term averages.
He added that new orders continued to increase for the fifth consecutive month, strengthening business confidence among companies operating in the Kingdom, despite regional challenges that had a limited impact on new export orders.
Output Growth and Rising Business Confidence
The report indicated that companies continued hiring for the second consecutive month, while maintaining spare production capacity despite increased business activity. This gives the private sector greater flexibility to meet rising demand.
The data also showed that input costs increased at their fastest pace since February. However, cost pressures remained at manageable levels, contributing to a slowdown in output price inflation to its lowest level since March.
Business confidence reached its highest level in seven months, with a large share of companies expecting business activity to improve over the coming year, driven by financial support programs and major development projects being pursued by Saudi Arabia.
