UAE economic growth accelerates to 4.4%
Stable oil prices major factor as all sectors saw positive improvement in 2012
Dubai: Economic growth in the United Arab Emirates accelerated to 4.4 per cent in inflation-adjusted terms in 2012 from a downwardly revised 3.9 per cent the previous year as activity picked up across all sectors, its statistics office said on Sunday.
“One of the most important factors is the role played by good and stable oil prices in general over the last year,” the National Bureau of Statistics in the OPEC member said in a data commentary. “All economic activities saw positive improvement in their growth rates in 2012, which has positively reflected on the value of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product).”
Oil prices averaged $112 per barrel last year, up from $109 in 2011, the office said, adding that the non-oil sector share on the Gulf country’s real GDP was estimated at 67.3 per cent in 2012.
Analysts polled by Reuters in April forecast GDP growth in the UAE, the second largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, to slow to 3.3 per cent this year.
