According to the HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers' Index, business activity growth in the UAE' non-oil private sector has dropped slightly in February as expansion in output and employment weakened, but new orders were strong, Reuters has reported. The seasonally adjusted index remains above the 50-point mark which separates growth from contraction, the survey of 400 private sector firms showed. "The strong new order score is encouraging and suggests that growth may begin to build pace in the months ahead," said Simon Williams, chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at HSBC. "For now, though, the February reading points only to stabilisation and paints a picture of an economy still operating below capacity."