Saudi non-oil private-sector growth eases in December

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector continued its growth momentum in 2025, but the expansion pace slowed to a four-month low in December amid concerns about rising competition and inflationary pressure.

The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia purchasing managers’ index (PMI) declined to 57.4 in December from 58.5 in November, signalling a cooling of growth for the second straight month.

The index, however, remained well above the 50.0 no-change mark and slightly stronger than its long-run average of 56.9.

A PMI score above 50 represents growth, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

“Business sentiment softened despite remaining positive,” said Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank.

“The future output index stayed above the neutral mark, indicating expectations of growth into 2026, but fell to its lowest level since July, reflecting more cautious confidence.”

Non-oil businesses raised their output last month, but the upturn was the weakest in four months. New orders also rose, albeit at the softest rate since August.
Nevertheless, employment growth remained strong in December, supported by output and new orders.

“Positive forecasts were partly dampened by concerns about rising competition,” Riyad Bank said.

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