UAE’s GDP grows 2.2% in first quarter

Monitoring Desk

DUBAI: The UAE Central Bank announced that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 from a year earlier.

According to a report issued by the central bank, the UAE’s non-oil economy increased by 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period of 2018.

The UAE revised downwards its expectations for economic growth in 2019, to 2 per cent this year from 3.5 per cent earlier, the central bank said in May.

The report also showed a drop in the consumer price index (CPI) inflation during the first quarter of 2019 as the impact of VAT has faded. On a quarterly basis, employment in the private sector rose by 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Private sector deposits continued to rise during the first quarter of 2019. Total credit continued to grow as well for most economic sectors. Financial safety indicators continued to support the banking system in the UAE.

In terms of oil production, the Central Bank reported an increase in the UAE’s oil production during the first quarter of 2019 on an annual basis by 7.6 per cent compared to an increase of 13.1 per cent in the previous quarter, averaging 3.06 million barrels per day.

On a quarterly basis, oil production during the first quarter of 2019 declined by 7 per cent compared to a 9.5 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2018. This decrease resulted from the implementation of the Opec + 1 agreement in December, which aims to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels per day, to be 800,000 barrels per day, including from Opec itself. (Gulf News)