Published: Aug 04, 2023, 05:40 IST | Updated: Aug 04, 2023, 05:40 IST
Saudi Arabia's economic plans to move away from oil-related activity seem to have encountered a significant dent as business growth in the kingdom slowed in July. Saudi Arabia's non-oil industries started to feel the effects of rising interest rates, which hurt the overall business growth last month. Riyad bank said the purchasing managers' index for Saudi Arabia was 57.7 in July, down from 59.6 in June. While the figure was still well above 50, which differentiates growth from contraction, the slowdown was mostly caused by slower growth in new orders.