Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani, Managing Director of Business Development, QFC Authority.
Qatar’s non-energy private sector economy ended 2020 with another above-par rate of growth, according to the December Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data.
Total business activity increased at a relatively marked pace, continuing the trend shown since the rapid expansion in July and August as the economy bounced back from the lockdown-induced downturn in the second quarter of the year.
New business continued to grow at a rate above the long-run survey average, while outstanding work rose the most since July 2018 signalling rising pressure from demand on business capacity. Firms continued to boost employment and wages while input purchase prices continued to fall on average, allowing companies to hold prices charged stable.
“Qatar’s PMI remained at an elevated level in December, signalling that the non-energy private sector economy continued to expand at a relatively strong pace. Business conditions have steadily improved throughout the second half of 2020, following the sharp downturn in the second quarter as the economy locked down to successfully combat the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, the volume of outstanding business is rising at the fastest rate in nearly two-and-a-half years, boding well for the first quarter of 2021,” said Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani (pictured), Managing Director of Business Development, QFC Authority.
The Qatar PMI indices are compiled from survey responses from a panel of around 400 private sector companies. The panel covers the manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail, and services sectors, and reflects the structure of the non-energy economy according to official national accounts data. The PMI eased slightly from 52.5 in November to 51.8 in December, broadly in line with the fourth quarter average of 51.9 and well above the long-run trend level of 49.6.
This signalled a solid end to 2020 for the non-energy private sector, with all five of the components of the PMI in positive territory. Total business activity continued to expand at a relatively strong rate in December.
