PMI: Saudi Arabia's Non-oil Businesses See First Deterioration in March in 5.5 Years

12:40 AM EDT, 04/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Business activity and new work in Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector contracted in March 2026 for the first time since August 2020 as the war in the Middle East impacted supply chains, the Riyad Bank and S&P Global said Sunday. The Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia PMI plunged to 48.8 in March from 56.1 in February, dragging the index below the 50-point neutral mark. The 7.3-point monthly decline was the second-largest since the survey began in 2009, after the fall recorded in March 2020.