#Saudi non-oil private sector grows solidly in May, steady from April - PMI | Reuters

Saudi non-oil private sector grows solidly in May, steady from April - PMI | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector continued strong growth in May, notching its 21st consecutive month of expansion, as demand withstood rising output costs, a survey showed on Sunday.

The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the whole economy was steady at 55.7 in May, the same as in April, which was its lowest reading since January and below the series average of 56.8.

The output sub-index, which measures business activity, fell slightly to 59.3 in May from 59.7 in April, which was also the slowest pace of growth since January. It was below the series average since 2009 of 61.4.

"The continued strength of the domestic non-oil economy encouraged firms to pass-through higher input costs to their customers in May, with the latest PMI data indicating another solid increase in selling prices due to greater fuel, material and transport costs," wrote David Owen, economist at survey compiler at S&P Global Market Intelligence.