Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) registered 57.5 points for the second month in December, showing a significant improvement in operating conditions across the non-oil economy.

The report stated that the business conditions across the Kingdom’s non-oil private sector improved sharply, driven by new order intakes as the companies witnessed the fastest rate of sales growth since June.

The purchase activity further saw a remarkable rise thanks to the increased demand which gave companies greater confidence in pricing; however, the employment growth and business activity expectations dropped from November.

Naif Al-Ghaith, Chief Economist at Riyad Bank, said: “The positive performance of the non-oil sector throughout 2023 has exceeded the expansion witnessed in the previous year, further demonstrating the effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing dependence on oil revenues.”

Al-Ghaith added that the export sector also witnessed the fastest increase since July, triggered by government initiatives and the emergence of new market opportunities.

The Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia PMI is compiled by S&P Global from surveys sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 private sector companies.

Meanwhile, the PMI is a weighted average of five indices: new orders (30%), output (25%), employment (20%), suppliers’ delivery times (15%) and stocks of purchases (10%).