| | NOVEMBER 20239IN FOCUSUAE NON-OIL BUSINESSES WITNESSES FOUR YEAR HIGHABU DHABI TO FUND JORDAN'S $70 MILLION DOMESTIC GAS NETWORKThe emirate of Abu Dhabi has committed to investing about $70 million towards a project that would extend Jordan's domestic gas network in important industrial areas.According to the official Jordanian news agency Petra, the money is a portion of a $400 million loan that the Abu Dhabi Development Fund (ADFD) will give to Jordan.According to the report, the agreement, which was reached this week, included $75 million to assist Jordan's budget in addition to sponsoring various other development initiatives in the country, such as building schools, reclaiming land, and the Health Ministry's $100 million digitalization project.The development of a waste-to-energy plant and a cargo project at the Port of Aqaba in Southern Jordan were the subjects of a separate agreement. Utilising its enormous proved resources of 101 billion barrels of crude oil and over 63 trillion cubic feet of gas, it has been ensnared in a vast effort to increase its production of both oil and gas. The non-oil private sector in the United Arab Emirates had growth in October that was fueled by new orders, reaching its highest point in more than four years. A significant increase in the state of the industry is indicated by the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which rose to 57.7 in October from 56.7 in September, the highest level since June 2019.Sharply rising new order intakes supported a marked increase in activity, as well as further additions to purchasing and staffing levels, the survey showed. "Strong economic conditions in the non-oil sector extended into the final quarter of the year, as October PMI results signalled a new recent record for new business growth. Rising at the fastest rate since June 2019, new order volumes provided additional support to output which continued to rise markedly," said David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.In October, increased fuel and material prices coincided with a 15-month peak in inflationary pressures. As a result, companies increased their own selling prices for the first time in 18 months, albeit very slightly, while maintaining their discount policies. "After dropping to a recent low of 1% in July, headline inflation could therefore pick back up in forthcoming readings," said Owen.At the beginning of the fourth quarter, businesses increased their inventories due to the increase in the new orders index. Additionally, the 12-month prognosis continued to inspire confidence, which is at its second-highest level since March 2020. Strong demand estimates accounted for a substantial portion of the favourable outlook. The UAE's non-oil sector growth hit a four-year high in October due to a surge in new orders. October saw a four-year high in the UAE's non-oil sector growth as new orders increased.
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