Dubai’s Private Sector Is Inching Towards Steady Growth Again

Dubai’s private sector showed a solid performance in November, recording a third consecutive month of growth apparently helped along Retail is proving to be the most active category, while there were output gains for construction.

The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index eased to 55.3 in November from 55.6 in October.

Yet, the “rate of growth remained above the series’ long-run average.” Despite this, the “lack of pricing power suggests that the environment for businesses remains challenging,” said Khatija Haque, head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD.

As for job creation, there were gains for a ninth consecutive month.

Demand for Dubai produced-goods and services were up in the November survey, with data indicating that “solid” domestic demand supported an upturn in new orders.

Business confidence towards future growth prospects was “strongly positive” in November, reflecting optimism towards developments surrounding Expo 2020 and an expected economic upturn. At the sector level, travel and tourism companies reported the most positive outlook.

On the flip side, November’s data indicated a further rise in average cost burdens faced That said, the rate of increase did soften since the previous survey and was “subdued in the context of historical data.”