New contracts have continued to expand in Dubai's non-oil private sector for nearly three years
The overall growth of Dubai’s non-oil private sector picked up pace in January, with firms at their most optimistic about future growth prospects since 2012, according to new data from the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index.
Of the three sectors monitored, wholesale and retail posted the strongest overall improvement in conditions at the start of the year, followed by travel and tourism. The construction sector, however, posted similar growth to January, but strong overall.
According to the data, growth in January was roughly in line with that seen over 2018 as whole and was stronger than the long-run average. The construction sector posted the fastest expansion of the three monitored sectors.
Additionally, higher intakes of new business supported the good overall conditions in January. The sequence of expansion in new contracts has now stretched to almost three years, with the latest increase the fastest recorded since June 2018.
Input prices were found to have risen for the tenth consecutive month in January, while the rate of inflation remained moderate. Of the three examined sectors, the weakest cost pressures were found to be in the travel and tourism sector.
At the same time, charges levied for final goods and services fell for the ninth month in a row, albeit at the slowest rate since last August. Of the three sectors, only wholesale and retail posted lower sales prices.
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