UAE business activity growth at record high

DUBAI: Business activity growth in the United Arab Emirates’ nonoil private sector rose to a record high in April as output soared at the fastest pace in the series history, a purchasing managers’ survey showed.
The HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 58.3 points in April from 57.7 in the previous month.
The seasonally adjusted index is far above the 50-point mark which separates growth from contraction, the survey of 400 private sector firms showed.
“The UAE economy is in full swing, led by booming Dubai,” said Simon Williams, chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at HSBC.
“The risks of overheating will come sooner rather than later, but for now the UAE is in the sweet spot of its economic cycle — strong growth, firm employment and inflation that is only starting to rise.”
UAE firms saw output growth rise to 62.4 points in April, which was the strongest rate since the series started in August 2009, from March’s 60.3. New orders remained at 66.2 points.
Growth in new export orders rebounded to 60.0 points in April from 57.9 in the previous month; the growth was the second-sharpest on record. Middle Eastern countries and China were major sources of new export growth.
Employment creation across the UAE’s non-oil private sector picked up to 54.7 points, the quickest pace since late 2009. Output prices fell for the first time since last November with the index sliding to 49.7 points in April. The rate of input cost inflation eased to 53.2 points.
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