Business activity growth in the UAE’s non-oil private sector slowed slightly in October from a 29-month high in the previous month, while growth in Saudi Arabian non-oil business activity slowed to its weakest rate for three months.

A purchasing managers' survey showed both output and new orders decelerating in both countries on Tuesday.

UAE

The HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers' Index, which measures the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors, dipped to 56.3 points in October from 56.6 in the previous month.

The adjusted index remains above the 50-point mark which separates growth from contraction, the survey of 400 private sector firms showed.

"The headline number may be down on the September high, but the underlying data remains strong," said Simon Williams, chief economist for Mena at HSBC.

"Production and new orders are continuing to gain, employment is up and inflation still looks benign. I remain confident that the economy will perform well into the year-end."

UAE firms saw output growth fall to 56.4 points in October from 57.9 in September. New orders were at 64.6, down from 65.0 in September, which was the strongest level in the survey's 51-month history.

Growth in new export orders, however, picked up to 58.9 points, the quickest pace in the series history.

Employment creation across the UAE's non-oil private sector slowed moderately to 52.7 points in October.

Output price growth slipped into negative territory after four months of modest growth, registering 49.0 points in October. Input price growth slowed slightly to 54.2 points.

Consumer price inflation in the UAE, the world's No. 3 oil exporter, held steady at a two-year high of 1.3 percent on an annual basis in September for the fourth month in a row, government data showed last month.

Saudi Arabia

The seasonally adjusted SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers Index slowed to 56.7 points in October from 58.7 points in September, with both well above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction.

In September the index had registered a six-month high. It was not clear whether the religious festivals of Ramadan in August and the Haj in October had affected the figures, as both involved long government and private sector holidays. Although the survey is seasonally adjusted, Muslim holidays are at different times each year.

The rate of output growth for non-oil producing private sector companies, at 58.2, was the second-slowest in the survey's 51-month history, but it still represented a robust expansion which the survey said was linked to increased new business.

New orders increased again in October but at the slowest pace in three months at 64.7.

Job creation growth was at the weakest level since May at 51.5. In all seven months since March, when the government stepped up a campaign to reduce the number of foreign workers, job creation has been slower than at any time since late 2011, the survey data showed. – Reuters