Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector “kept up its solid pace of growth in March as output expanded at the fastest rate in over four years,” a survey showed on Tuesday.
According to a report on the data in Reuters, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the whole economy rose to 56.8 in March from 56.2 in February, exactly in line with the series average since August 2009.
More per Reuters:
“The Saudi Arabia PMI continued to signal strong growth in the non-oil economy in March, as new business and activity rose sharply in line with recovering client demand,” wrote David Owen, economist at survey compiler S&P Global. Supply chains also displayed strength, with lead times shortening to the greatest extent for three years. In turn, companies raised their purchasing at the fastest rate since December 2017, supporting higher capacity levels.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 7.4 percent, according to a government report that cites ministry of finance forecasts, according to Arab News. The expected growth is driven by a rise in the oil GDP associated with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreement and the expected improvement in non-oil GDP, the report said.
