Qatar's Non-Energy Private Sector Expands in April: PMI Surges to 52, New Orders, Employment, and Optimism Rise
In April 2023, Qatar's non-energy private sector experienced an improvement in business conditions, as indicated by a Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of 52, up from 50.6 in March.
The PMI is a measure of non-energy private sector performance, which includes indicators for new orders, output, employment, suppliers' delivery times, and stocks of purchases.
A reading above 50 signals expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction.
The 1.4-point increase between March and April was among the largest registered over the past two years, according to S&P Global, the US-based capital market firm that compiled the survey data for the Qatar Financial Center.
In April, Qatar's non-energy economy experienced a surge in activity with increases in output, new orders, employment, and purchasing activity at faster rates than in March.
However, price pressures turned negative as both input and output prices fell marginally.
The volume of new business rose at the fastest rate in seven months due to new customers and competitive, high-quality products.
Total activity also surged at the fastest rate since last September due to new projects and completed workloads.
Additionally, non-energy private sector companies were optimistic about growth over the next 12 months, attributing their positive outlook to marketing campaigns, business development plans, and efficiency drives.
In April 2024, Qatar experienced stronger inflows of new work and increased confidence, resulting in a faster hiring rate.
Employment has been rising for 14 consecutive months, with the rate of job creation surpassing the survey average.
The Qatar PMI indices are based on surveys of around 450 private sector companies in manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail, and services sectors.
The total assets of Islamic banks in Qatar grew by 6.4% annually to approximately 563.9 billion Qatari riyals ($154.8 billion) in March 2024.
The Qatar Central Bank's monetary bulletin for March reported that the total value of deposits in Qatari banks reached 611.5 billion riyals, which is 28% of the total assets and approximately 1.99 trillion riyals.
Additionally, the value of financing provided by Islamic banks in Qatar increased by 3% to 389.9 billion riyals compared to the same month the previous year.