UAE Non-Oil PMI Rises to Four-Month High in July as Employment Grows Despite Iran War Fallout

S&P Global said on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 (14 Mordad 1405), that the UAE's seasonally adjusted non-oil Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 52.7 in July from 50.8 in June, the highest reading since March 2026. David Owen, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the July data signaled a restoration of business confidence and smoother trade flows after the PMI had dropped close to the 50.0 neutral threshold in June.

The report said the UAE labor market, which had experienced one of its sharpest contractions since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in June, returned to growth at the start of the third quarter as firms resumed hiring. Even so, business confidence about future output fell for a third straight month to its lowest level since March, with only 7 percent of firms expecting an upturn over the coming year. New order growth reached its fastest pace since February, and export orders rose for the first time since March. Dubai's PMI also rose in July, to 51.7 from 50.7 in June.

The data followed an announcement by the UAE government media office on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 (12 Mordad), citing Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre figures, that the UAE economy grew 3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2026 to 485 billion dirhams ($132 billion), with the non-oil sector expanding 4.8 percent to account for 79.4 percent of the national economy.