Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector saw a second straight month of expansion in October, as figures show output grew at a “solid pace,” Reuters reports.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.0 in October from 50.7 in September. The 50.0 mark separates growth from contraction.
The two-month rally for the Saudi economy follows a period in which the non-oil private sector shrank each month from March to August, with the exception of July.
But, like elsewhere, concerns remained over the pace of recovery in Saudi Arabia from the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed on Tuesday.
“While the latest PMI data indicated a further expansion in the Saudi Arabia non-oil private sector in October, there were reasons for fresh concern about the pace of recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak,” said David Owen, economist at survey compiler IHS Markit, per Reuters.
“Sales growth slowed to just a marginal pace, after a renewed upturn in September, that was in part due to a drop in export demand. Moreover, job numbers continued to fall, with the rate of decline accelerating for the first time since June.”
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