UAE - Mubasher: The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased to 53.5 in April from 51 in March, reflecting a faster recovery across Dubai's non-oil private sector economy.
The PMI reading recorded the highest level since November 2019, suggesting that the economy is recovering to its pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) growth trajectory, according to a press release on Monday.
The PMI level in April is attributed to strengthened business conditions amid higher output and new business.
Meanwhile, the emirate recorded the quickest sales growth since October 2019, driven by higher business confidence because of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.
Dubai's travel and tourism sector mainly contributed to the uptick in April, as Dubai companies in this sector recorded the first rise in new business this year and the strongest rate of growth since the end of 2019.
The Economist at IHS Markit, David Owen, said: "The recovery in the Dubai non-oil economy sped up in April, as output and new order growth returned to preCOVID trends and business confidence strengthened to the highest in over a year."
Owen added: "Cost inflation meanwhile eased from March and was slower than the rate of selling charge inflation. This signals a slight improvement to operating margins after a long period of pressure from price discounting."
