Saudi Arabia saw a significant increase in non-oil PMI in April 2021 as both business activity and new orders grew at a faster rate, Jadwa Investment’s recently-released Chartbook for the month said.
The non-oil PMI rose significantly in April, up to 55.2 from 53.3 in March, as both business activity and new orders grew at the
fastest rate in three months.
The Kingdom’s non-oil PMI rose significantly in April, up to 55.2 from 53.3 in March, the fastest growth rate in three months, as the Kingdom begins to open up again following Coronavirus-related lockdowns. “Moreover, cement sales and production saw a remarkable rise in April, by 46 and 38 percent, respectively, due to base year effects as lockdowns and curfews impacted activity back in April 2020,” Jadwa said.
Meanwhile, non-oil exports saw a sizable rise in March, by 43 percent year-on-year, and by 20 percent month-on-month, affected by both monthly and yearly rises in the petrochemicals and plastics and rubber sector exports.
The uptick in economic activity is good news for Saudi Arabia, which hopes to resume with its economic diversification plans as part of Vision 2030 after a lost year due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.
Consumer spending also surged in April. While POS transactions rose by 142 percent year-on-year, and cash withdrawals were up by 27 percent year-on-year, on a monthly basis POS transactions were down following a notable rise in March, Jadwa said. Despite the remarkable annual rise, overall consumer spending was down on a monthly basis by 4.7 percent, affected by lower POS transactions and ATM withdrawals compared to March.
The net monthly change to government accounts with SAMA were down by SR29 billion ($7.7 billion) month-on-month in April.
[Click here to read the full report from Jadwa Investment] [Arabic]
