Growth in Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector was almost unchanged in January, suggesting the plunge in oil prices is not so far proving a major drag on the economy, a survey of businesses showed on Tuesday.

Business activity growth in the UAE's non-oil private sector hit a three-month high in January.

The seasonally adjusted SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index was 57.8 points in January against 57.9 in December, staying far above the 50 line separating expansion from contraction.

Output growth fell to 60.3 points in January from 63.3 in the previous month, but new order growth accelerated to 65.8 points from 63.7. Employment growth slowed marginally to 52.8 points.

Output price inflation edged down to 50.1 points while input price inflation slowed to 53.3 points from 53.8.

The HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers' Index was 59.3 points last month against 58.4 in December.

"The pick-up in activity at the start of the year is encouraging, but we continue to expect activity to lose speed into 2015 as low oil prices and weaker demand from key export markets in the Gulf weigh on momentum," said HSBC's chief Middle East economist Simon Williams.

Output growth accelerated slightly in January while growth in new orders rose sharply to 67.9 points from 65.4 points.

Output price inflation rose marginally to 50.3 points while input price inflation was flat at 54.2 points. Employment growth increased marginally to 53.2 points.  -Reuters