The Ministry of Economy in the United Arab Emirates expected that the increase in the production and export capacity of the oil sector to 3.1 million barrels per day during 2019 will contribute to supporting the real economic growth of the UAE to reach 2 percent.
According to the Ministry’s report, in 2019 it is expected that merchandise exports will increase by 4.2 percent to record about 330.2 billion dollars, and merchandise imports will increase by 4.3% to reach about 245.4 billion dollars. As a result, the surplus in the trade balance is expected to increase by 4.1 percent to reach about $ 84.8 billion in 2019.
According to the report, the inflation rate in 2019 will decrease to 1.2 percent, due to several factors, most notably the absorption of the impact of value-added tax and the expected decline in oil prices, as well as the decline in rental prices, which represent a large share of the consumer basket, the liberalization of energy prices and their repercussions on transportation prices, in addition to developments in the US dollar and the monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve in terms of expectations for lower interest rates on the dollar, which will be reflected on the interest rates of Arab currencies fixed against the dollar, including the dirham.
Source (Emirati Gulf Newspaper, Edited)
