Dubai's non-oil economy shakes off Omicron jitters to rise sharply in February

Business conditions in Dubai's non-oil private sector economy improved sharply in February, shaking off Omicron jitters, as new orders rose and the travel and tourism sector continued to benefit from Expo 2020.

The emirate's seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 54.1 in February after easing to a four-month low of 52.6 in January. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while one below points to a contraction. Non-oil businesses attributed the significant rise in new orders to an upturn in client demand and a recovery in economic conditions after the Omicron wave slowed the pace of demand growth at the start of the year.

The rate of new order growth in February was one of the strongest seen since the start of the pandemic, beaten only by levels seen in the last quarter of 2021.

"New business growth in Dubai is a “promising sign that the Omicron variant has had only a minor impact on the economy compared to previous waves of the pandemic”, David Owen, an economist at IHS Markit, said.