Business growth in the UAE's non-oil private sector slumped to a four month low in December, according to the latest HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI).
Output and new order growth both rose at weaker rates last month while employment levels stagnated, the report said. The situation is also unlikely to improve dramatically in the first quarter of 2012 because of the gloomy global economic scenario.
The HSBC PMI, which measures business activity of 400 private firms in the UAE across manufacturing, services, construction and retail sectors, dropped to 51.7 points in December from 52.5 points in November. The adjusted index remains above the 50-point mark which separates growth from contraction. "Output from the UAE non-oil private sector continued to rise during the latest survey period," the HSBC report said. "However, the rate of increase moderated since November to a three-month low, reflecting an easing trend in new business growth and a less-marked depletion of unfinished work," it added.
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