May data signaled a strong month for financial services companies in Qatar. Rates of expansion in new business and total activity both accelerated since April, and the 12-month outlook strengthened.
New work increased, extending the current growth sequence to three years. Moreover, the rate of growth in May was the fastest since August 2022 and well above the long-run trend. Total financial services activity rose for the twenty-third month running and at the strongest rate in three months. Meanwhile, expectations for activity strengthened and financial services firms raised employment.
May data signaled improving margins at financial services firms, as charges were raised further but input costs were broadly flat on average.
Chief Executive Officer, QFC Authority, Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida said: “Qatar’s non-energy private sector remained on an upward growth trajectory in May, as inflows of new business accelerated in part due to tourism and demand for financial services. The sub-indices for output (59.6) and new orders (60.1) boosted the headline PMI to a ten-month high of 55.6, well above the long-run trend level since 2017 of 52.3.
“Financial services continued to outperform the wider economy, with its key indices for activity and new business registering 61.4 and 61.8, respectively. Financial services firms also raised their charges, in contrast to little change across the non-energy sector as a whole.” “The latest data suggests that rising demand for inputs is being reflected in prices, with the rate of purchase price inflation rising to its highest for nearly two years. Supply chains were able to cope with greater demand, as lead times on inputs fell further during the month.” The Qatar Financial Centre PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 450 private sector companies. The panel is stratified by detailed sector and company workforce size, based on contributions to GDP. The sectors covered by the survey include manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail, and services.
The headline figure is the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). The PMI is a weighted average of the following five indices: New Orders (30 percent), Output (25 percent), Employment (20 percent), Suppliers Delivery Times (15 percent) and Stocks of Purchases (10 percent). For the PMI calculation the Suppliers Delivery Times Index is inverted so that it moves in a comparable direction to the other indices.
Source: Qatar News Agency