Saudi non-oil private sector extends growth in March

A survey showed today that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector extended its strong growth during March as output expanded at the fastest rate in over four years.

The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the whole economy rose to 56.8 in March from 56.2 in February, the highest average since August 2009.

David Owen, economist at survey compiler S&P Global, said that the PMI in the Kingdom got supported by a strong growth in the non-oil economy last month.