Dubai – Mubasher: Dubai’s non-oil sector performance improved in January compared to the prior month after the seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index logged a rise to 56.0 from December’s 14-month low of 54.7.
“The latest reading indicated the strongest rate of improvement for five months,” data released on Sunday showed.
In terms of sectors, the emirate’s wholesale & retail sector, logging 56.1 on the index, was the best performer followed by travel & tourism, and construction in second and third places with 57.7 and 55.2, respectively.
All three categories were seen as having better growth in the first month of 2018 versus data released for December.
A reading of below 50.0 indicates that the non-oil private sector economy is generally declining, while above 50.0 indicates an expansion, and a reading of 50.0 signals no change.
“The rise in the Dubai Economy Tracker Index signals a strong start to 2018, despite the introduction of [the value-added tax (VAT), which put] upward pressure on both input and output prices,” commented head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD Khatija Haque.
“The construction sector had a particularly strong month in January, and this supports our view that construction will be a key driver of Dubai’s growth this year,” she highlighted.
Companies operating in Dubai’s non-oil private sector companies reported “the fastest growth in business activity since July 2017,” the report released by Emirates NBD showed, indicating that the expansion rate “was stronger than the long-run series average (since January 2010).”
In terms of sectors, construction companies enjoyed the largest rise in output in January 2018, followed closely by wholesale & retail.
The Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index is a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy.
