A survey showed, on Sunday, that the activity of the non-oil business sector in Saudi Arabia rose to its highest level in eight years, in February, due to the strong increase in demand that occurred as a result of optimistic economic expectations, according to the American agency, “Bloomberg”.
According to the S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index survey, new orders rose in February at the fastest rate of increase since September 2014, and companies are optimistic regarding the coming year, according to Bloomberg.
And the American agency stated that the purchasing managers’ index in the Saudi Riyad Bank rose to 59.8 last February, compared to 58.2 in the previous January, at the fastest rate of increase since March 2015.
The agency quoted what the chief economist at Riyad Bank, Nayef Al-Ghaith, said in a report: “Economic conditions are still good in all commercial activities, and despite the tightening of monetary conditions, the balance of supply and demand seemed strong and a catalyst for ongoing projects throughout the Kingdom.”
Al Ghaith added, “We maintain our inflation forecast at just under 3 percent amid ongoing cost pressures and the current increasing demand that we believe will continue in the medium term.”
“Bloomberg” stated that the recovery of the non-oil private sector, which is the engine for job creation in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest oil exporter in the world, reflects the extent of economic prosperity.
The agency pointed out that the Kingdom has so far been largely immune from global economic problems with high oil prices, which puts the government on the right track to achieve a budget surplus for the second year while inflation rates remain low. Non-oil growth reached 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the highest level since the third quarter of 2021.
According to the survey, which was quoted by “Bloomberg”, new projects in Saudi Arabia, in addition to increasing consumer numbers and some price promotions, helped increase sales in February. Export orders also increased “at a sharp and rapid pace”. This led to job numbers rising at the second fastest rate of growth in five years.