The UAE Central Bank revealed that the economy contracted by 5.8 percent last year, but it is expected it to grow by 2.5 percent this year, and 3.5 percent during the year 2022, indicating that the growth of the non-oil GDP will be of 3.6 and 3.9 percent respectively.
The Coronavirus crisis affected last year, due to the drop in oil prices and the damage to important non-oil economic sectors such as tourism. The bank estimates that real non-oil GDP fell by 5.7 percent in the past year.
In addition, bank lending in the UAE grew by 2.4 percent in January on an annual basis (12 months prior to January 2021), while the bank deposits declined by 0.4 percent in January on a monthly basis. According to the UAE Central Bank, the total liquidity in the UAE banking system has returned to its level before the Corona pandemic.
The International Monetary Fund stated that the success of the vaccination program in the UAE, and the economic performance that exceeded expectations in the last quarter of last year with the return to normal economic activity in many sectors in the country, contributed to raising the Fund’s expectations for economic growth this year and improving growth estimates in 2020.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net website, Edited)
