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Qatar saw its fastest non-energy growth in nearly two years in June with surges in both existing and new business.
Employment also grew for the 16th month in a row as companies expanded, and the country’s 12-month outlook remained strong.
Qatar saw its Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) headline figure reach 55.9, up from 53.6 in May, with anything above 50.0 indicating growth in business activity.
Inflationary pressures remained muted, with input prices up only slightly since May and prices charged for goods and services falling, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) report said.
The headline figure signalled the strongest improvement in business conditions in the non-energy private sector economy since July 2022 and was above the long-run trend.
Incoming new work expanded at the sharpest rate in 13 months and there was notably faster growth in manufacturing and construction, with sharp growth in other sectors, the report said.
Despite rising demand for goods and services, companies were able to further reduce the volume of outstanding work in June.
Companies linked positive forecasts to new branch openings, new customers, and marketing campaigns.
Prices charged for goods and services fell for the sixth time in the past eight months, as firms reported making discounts to boost competitiveness and win new customers.
Qatari financial services companies recorded a further strengthening in growth of total business activity and new contracts in June.
The seasonally adjusted Financial Services Business Activity and New Business Indexes rose to 13- and nine-month highs of 61.1 and 59.2, respectively, above their long-run trend levels since 2017.
Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, QFC CEO, said the June PMI index was higher than in all pre-pandemic months except for October 2017, which was 56.3.
“Growth has now accelerated five times in the first half of 2024 as the non-energy economy has rebounded from a moderation in the second half of 2023,” he said.
(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Bindu Rai)
