Saudi Non-Oil Private Sector Growth Hits Six-Month High

Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector saw significant growth in August, reaching its fastest pace in six months. The Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 53.8 from 53.1 in July.

The improvement in market activity led to a seven-month high in output growth and an increase in new orders for the fifth consecutive month, following a brief downturn in March. However, export orders continued to decline for a sixth straight month, with firms citing regional conflict and foreign competition as reasons.

Employment rose for a second month, but hiring remained modest as backlogs of work fell for a third consecutive month. Input buying increased at the fastest pace since February, while cost pressures eased to a five-month low. Output price inflation slowed to its weakest since March, and business confidence rebounded to a seven-month high.