The S&P Global UAE PMI held steady at 55.3 in September 2026, matching August’s 20‑month high and indicating a strong improvement in non-oil private sector business conditions. Growth was driven by a sharp rise in output, which accelerated to a seven-month high, while new orders continued to increase robustly, though at a slightly softer pace than August’s seven-month peak. Export demand also strengthened, with new business from abroad expanding for a third consecutive month and at the fastest rate since November 2024.
Stronger demand gave firms greater pricing power, pushing output price inflation to its highest level since May 2011. At the same time, purchase costs rose at the quickest pace in three months, reflecting higher raw material and freight charges. Employment returned to modest growth after declining in August, but backlogs of work rose sharply again as workloads remained elevated. Purchasing activity also increased rapidly, and input inventories grew at their fastest pace since November 2023.
