Saudi Non-Oil Business Growth Almost Unchanged In January

Growth in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector was almost unchanged in January, suggesting the plunge in oil prices is not so far proving a major drag on the economy, a survey of businesses showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index was 57.8 points in January against 57.9 in December, staying far above the 50 line separating expansion from contraction.

Output growth fell to 60.3 points in January from 63.3 in the previous month, but new order growth accelerated to 65.8 points from 63.7. Employment growth slowed marginally to 52.8 points.

Output price inflation edged down to 50.1 points while input price inflation slowed to 53.3 points from 53.8.