Inflation likely to stay low while economy grows
Expansion linked to oil price, minister says
Abu Dhabi: The rate of inflation in the UAE this year will likely be around 1.1 per cent, Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri said yesterday.
"Today, we think, we can control the inflation rate," Al Mansouri told reporters on the sidelines of a regional aviation security conference in Abu Dhabi.
"Inflation in the UAE fell to 1.75 per cent in 2009 from 12.3 per cent in 2008... it was a big drop."
He said the Ministry of Economy would work towards maintaining the low, single-digit inflation rate.
On Saturday, Al Mansouri said in Dubai that the UAE economy may expand 3.2 per cent in 2010, with crude oil prices at $85 a barrel.
If oil was at $75 a barrel, the country's economy would likely grow at a slower pace of between two per cent and 2.5 per cent this year, he added.
The UAE's economic growth slowed last year to 1.3 per cent, the UAE government's annual economic report said.
The UAE Economic Report of 2009 said income from oil exports was 29 per cent of the UAE's GDP.
