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There was a sharp acceleration in the growth of UAE non-oil companies in April, driven by improvements in market conditions and a growth in external demand.
According to media in research; the pace of expansion of growth in non-oil companies was a 16-month high, with new work from external demand i.e. Saudi Arabia and Oman in particular pushing the rate of growth of new export orders to an almost four-year high. These higher new orders combined with a number of ongoing projects led to a sustainable rise in business activity in April.
To limit cost inflation, staffing levels went up only slightly at the start of the second quarter, despite the significant increases in workloads. Sharp new order growth and limited hiring led backlogs of work to rise at a more substantial pace.
Business confidence was the highest since the series began seven years ago during April, bolstered by expectations of higher new orders and a positive 12-month outlook for activity.
Purchasing activity continued to rise sharply, while stocks of purchases accumulated to the greatest extent since March 2018.
Despite strong demand for inputs, suppliers’ delivery times shortened as vendors responded to requirements for fast deliveries.
However, with firms still competing on price, there is still a reluctance to boost hiring and we haven’t seen a meaningful improvement in job growth.
