JEDDAH: Growth in Saudi Arabia’s nonoil private sector slowed in June, a survey of businesses showed.

Underpinning the overall slowdown was the weakest rise in new orders since the survey began in 2009, while output growth also slowed during the month.

The rates of expansion remained sharp overall, and resulted in another robust improvement in business conditions, according to a press release.

Total input costs, meanwhile, increased at a moderate pace, contributing to a marginal rise in output charges.

The survey, sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by Markit, contains original data collected from a monthly survey of business conditions in the Saudi private sector.

Commenting on the Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia PMI, Khatija Haque, Head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD, said: “While the PMI data suggest that growth in the nonoil sector has slowed markedly in Q2 2015, it is important to note that these sectors are still growing at a robust rate, with the PMI readings well above the neutral 50-level.”

The headline seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a composite gauge designed to give a single-figure snapshot of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy — slipped from 57.0 in May to a survey-record low of 56.1 in June.

Growth of the sector as a whole has eased throughout the second quarter of 2015, mirroring the trends observed for output and new work intakes. That said, the latest reading remained indicative of a robust improvement in business conditions.

Similarly, input buying at non-oil private sector companies in Saudi Arabia continued to rise steeply in June. This resulted in a further solid expansion in stocks of purchases. That said, the rates of growth were slightly weaker than their respective averages.

Saudi Arabian non-oil private sector firms also raised employment in June. However, the rate of hiring was little-changed since May and moderate overall. In contrast, backlogs of work rose at the joint-quickest pace in the series history, amid reports that new work inflows had placed additional pressure on operating capacity.

On the price front, total input costs increased again in June. That said, the rate of cost inflation slowed to the weakest in more than a year, helped by relatively muted expansions in both purchase prices and staff costs.

Higher input prices led to the second consecutive monthly rise in average tariffs during June. However, the latest increase was only slight, as competitive pressures were again reported to have weighed on selling prices. The Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in over 400 private sector companies, which have been carefully selected to accurately represent the true structure of the Saudi nonoil economy, including manufacturing, services, construction and retail.