LONDON: The pace of global business growth eased to its weakest rate in over a year at the end of 2014 as rates of expansion slowed in both the manufacturing and service industries, a survey showed yesterday.
JPMorgan’s Global All-Industry Output Index, produced with Markit, fell to a 14-month low of 52.3 in December from November’s 53.1 but has now held above the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction for more than two years.
“The latest PMI data point to a further easing in the rate of global economic growth at the end of last year,” said David Hensley at JPMorgan. “The underlying dynamics of the survey are weaker across the board, with indices for output, new orders, backlogs and employment all tracking lower.”
A global PMI covering the service industry also fell to a 14-month low, coming in at 52.3 compared to November’s 53.4. Global manufacturing activity expanded at its weakest pace in more than a year at the end of 2014, a similar survey showed on Friday.
The index combines survey data from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia.
The business activity growth in the United Arab Emirates’ non-oil private sector edged up in December as output rose strongly, a survey of companies showed.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures the manufacturing and services sector, was 58.4 points last month against 58.3 in November. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction in the survey of 400 firms.
Dubai is a business centre for the Gulf region, but the PMI data did not show any significant impact from the plunge of global oil prices over the past six months. “We expect lower oil prices to weigh on the economy into 2015, but for now demand is holding up well. That new orders as well as output have remained strong is particularly encouraging,” said Simon Williams, chief economist for the Middle East at HSBC.Reuters
