Dubai: The UAE economy is projected grow 2.3 per cent this year compared to 4 per cent last year according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest Regional Economic Outlook.
“The growth slowdown is going to be more pronounced in Abu Dhabi while Dubai is coping well with the overall regional economic slowdown. In relative terms, the UAE as a whole is better diversified than the regional economies,” said Masood Ahmad, Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department of the IMF.
Abu Dhabi’s GDP is projected to grow 1.5 per cent this year compared to 4.3 per cent last year. The economic forecast for next year places the GDP growth at 1.7 per cent.
Dubai, a more diversified economy and relatively less dependent of hydrocarbon revenues is projected to grow at 3.3 per cent this year, marginally down from 3.5 per cent growth last year. For the year ahead, the IMF has projected a GDP growth of 3.6 per cent for the Emirate.
For the country as a whole, the UAE is projected to report a GDP growth of 2.5 per cent in 2017.
The consolidated accounts of the federal government and the emirates Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah together are expected to record a fiscal deficit of 3.9 per cent of GDP this year and a projected fiscal deficit of 1.9 per cent of GDP in 2017.
Despite the heavy economic headwinds from the oil price drop translating into large export losses, the UAE will continue to report positive current account balances this year and the next. The IMF has projected the country’s current account at a surplus of 1.1 per cent of GDP this year and 3.7 per cent of GDP in 2017.
