Purchasing of inputs expanded for the seventh consecutive month in September, but supply chains continued to improve as average lead times fell for the seventeenth successive month, a series-record sequence. Input inventories were broadly stable, as companies continued to manage stock levels efficiently.
Price pressures were modest in September with all four price indices printing only just above the no-change mark of 50.0. Prices charged for goods and services rose for the first time in five months, led by the manufacturing sector.
Qatari financial services companies raised employment at a quicker pace in September, with the rate of job creation the strongest in nearly two years. The Employment Index posted a 23-month high of 54.2, well above the long-run average of 52.2.
Total financial services activity and new business both increased at marked rates, albeit ones that eased slightly since August, while the 12-month outlook improved.
September data signaled lower charges levied by finance companies in Qatar, the third instance of discounting in four months. Average input costs fell marginally.
Chief Executive Officer at QFC Authority Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida said: “The Qatar PMI continued its steady run in September, coming in at 53.7 and indicating another strong improvement in business conditions. Growth over the third quarter as a whole softened slightly compared with the second quarter but remained comfortably above the long-run trend of the surveys six-and-a-half-year history.” “While output and new business continued to expand at robust rates, it was employment that was the main highlight in September, with the rate of hiring growth the best since mid-2022. At the sector level, construction is showing signs of resurgence following a relatively quiet 12 months, with new orders rising more steeply than any other sector in September,” he added The soft patch in the PMI immediately following the FIFA World Cup in early 2023 was recently corroborated by the latest GDP figures, where annual growth slowed to 2.7 percent in the first quarter. The PMI is signaling a subsequent uplift to GDP growth in the second and third quarters.
Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surveys are now available for over 40 countries and for key regions including the Eurozone. They are the most closely watched business surveys in the world, favored by central banks, financial markets, and business decision-makers for their ability to provide up-to-date, accurate, and often unique monthly indicators of economic trends.
Source: Qatar News Agency