JEDDAH – The Saudi non-oil private sector registered solid improvement in its business activity during February with firms reporting a surge in production and new factory orders compared to last month, the latest Saudi Arabia purchasing managers' index (PMI) compiled by Saudi British Bank (SABB) and HSBC said, noting to a further improvement in operating conditions at non-oil producing private sector companies in the Kingdom. The headline PMI posted 58.5, up from 58.1 in January, said the SABB monthly report. The PMI reflects the economic performance of the Saudi non-oil producing private sector companies through the monitoring of a number of variables, including output, orders, prices, stocks and employment. Output and new order growth remained solid and employment levels continued to rise. Meanwhile, purchasing activity increased at a sharp rate. While the rise in output was mainly driven by more new business and improving market conditions, the rise in new orders was attributed to marketing and sales efforts within companies. Moreover, the rate of growth in new work was sharp and higher than in the previous survey period. New export orders also continued to increase. Employment levels at non-oil producing private sector firms rose further during February. According to anecdotal evidence, new business was the main reason for an increase in payroll numbers. Backlogs of work at non-oil producing private sector firms in Saudi Arabia increased during February. While the rate at which backlogged work accumulated was only slight, survey data signaled the first increase in work-in-hand since October 2012. Meanwhile, suppliers' delivery times continued to improve, but at the weakest rate in 11 months. The latest survey data pointed to higher prices charged by Saudi Arabian non-oil producing private sector companies. Increased input costs were commonly mentioned by companies that reported a rise in output prices. Overall input prices also rose during February, and the rate of input cost inflation was broadly unchanged from January. Around 11 percent of companies recorded higher input costs and only 2 percent reported a fall. While the rate of purchase price inflation picked up, wage inflation fell to a 16-month low. Purchasing activity increased during the latest survey period in Saudi Arabia's non-oil producing private sector. Around 35 percent of panelists reported an increase in quantity of items purchased, while less than 9 percent indicated a fall. Stocks of purchases also rose. The rate of growth was broadly unchanged from January and remained above the series average. There was some evidence that expectations of more new business partly led to the accumulation of stocks of purchases. — SG
