Dubai’s non-oil economy edges up in February on rapid vaccination campaign
10 March, 2021
Dubai’s non-oil private sector economy grew in February as the emirate's rapid Covid-19 vaccine campaign fuelled optimism and boosted employment and output.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index rose from 50.6 in January to 50.9 in February as operating conditions improved for the 3rd consecutive month.
A reading above 50 indicates economical expansion while one below that points to a contraction.
There was output growth for key sectors such as for example construction, wholesale and retail, based on the survey.
However, travel and tourism bucked the trend with an additional decline in activity therefore of coronavirus-induced restrictions.
IHS Markit economist David Owen said companies' hopes for growth running a business activity over the coming 12 months received a boost from the successful distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in the emirate and around the UAE.
“However, the near-term outlook could be choppy as cases remain high and other areas of the world continue to restrict activity and travel,” he said.
The 3rd successive monthly improvement available conditions was helped by the UAE's continued roll out of vaccines to regulate the spread of the pandemic.
More than 312 million vaccines have been administered in 116 countries at a daily rate of 8.08 million doses, according to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker.
The UAE was in third place after the Seychelles and Israel on Monday, with a daily rate of 58.5 doses administered for each and every 100 people.
Dubai, the commercial and the tourism hub of the center East, unveiled four stimulus packages worth Dh6.8 billion ($1.85bn) to soften the economic blow of the pandemic and support businesses and people.
The emirate’s economy is forecast to expand 4 % in 2021 driven by its effective response to Covid-19, according to government projections released in December.
The latest PMI survey showed that sales in the non-oil sector fell for the very first time since May as the federal government introduced new restrictions to regulate the pandemic.
However, the trend was softer weighed against when the health crisis began this past year.
Despite weaker sales, Dubai companies remain optimistic that the disruption will be momentary and expect the emirate's vaccine campaign to operate a vehicle a sharp rebound in output later in the entire year.
Employment numbers found for the second consecutive month as the emirate’s economy continued to recuperate from the pandemic.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com