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Saudi Arabia’s Purchasing Managers’ Index fell 0.7 points in January, according to a press release from IHS Markit.

The overall index figure slipped to 53.2 from 53.9 in December 2021, after falling for the fourth consecutive month.

It hit a 15-month low after falling to a nine-month low in December 2021.

“Customer demand in the non-oil sector has been stifled by the omicron variant…resulting in slower business and new business growth, as well as the weakest improvement in trading conditions since October 2020,” the report said. press release quoting David Owen. , an economist at IHS Markit.

As customer demand slowed in January, production growth also slowed, after hitting the lowest rate since August 2021 in December.

Growth in new orders slowed for the fourth straight month and hit its lowest level since October 2020.

Export sales fell for the first time since March, albeit slightly due to a drop in new foreign orders. Some companies cited high costs for global shipping and transportation.

Meanwhile, business buying activity remained at similar high levels to the previous month. Companies have made efforts to build up stocks and support production.

Growth in the price of inputs, such as raw materials, moderated to mark the smallest increase in total production costs since August 2021.

Business confidence has strengthened after falling to an 18-month low in December 2021. Optimism about future activity has resumed. Some of the companies covered in the survey are hopeful that a post-pandemic recovery will lead to stronger new business growth and stabilization in global markets.

IHS Markit compiles Saudi Arabia’s PMI from responses to questionnaires sent to procurement managers from a panel of approximately 400 private sector companies.

The key figure is the Purchasing Managers’ Index. The PMI is a weighted average of the following five indices: new orders — 30%, production — 25%, employment — 20%, lead times from suppliers — 15%; and purchases stocks 10 percent.