Dubai non-oil private sector activity eases to four-month low in March

DUBAI: Activity in Dubai’s non-oil private sector eased to a fourth-month low but remained in expansionary territory last month, latest data from the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker show.
“The headline Dubai Economy Tracker Index eased further in March to 55.3, still well above the neutral 50.0 level and indicating a solid expansion in the non-oil private sector last month,” Khatija Haque, head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD, said in a statement.
“Output and new order growth remained very strong, with these components at 59.5 and 59.8 respectively.”
A reading of below 50.0 indicates that the non-oil private sector economy is generally declining; above 50.0, that it is generally expanding. A reading of 50.0 signals no change. The survey covers the Dubai non-oil private sector economy, with additional sector data published for travel and tourism, wholesale and retail and construction.
The index averaged 55.7 in the first quarter this year, indicating a similar rate of economic expansion during the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2017.
The survey noted expansion in all three of the major sectors during the month, with travel and tourism even outperforming wholesale and retail trade and construction.
“Despite easing slightly in March, the rate of growth in the travel and tourism sector remained strong in March, with the overall sector index at 56.7,” Haque said in the report, although the increased activity did not result into more jobs as the sector’s employment index remained below the 50.0 threshold for a second month.
The wholesale and retail trade index meanwhile eased to 56.3 in March from 57.3 a month earlier as output and new work for the sector grew at a slower rate.
“As with the whole economy however, selling prices in the wholesale and retail trade sector declined in March, at the fastest rate since July 2017, which likely helped boost activity,” Haque noted in the report.
Construction sector activity meanwhile continued its slide with an index reading for March at 53.2.
“Momentum in the construction sector slowed in the first quarter of 2018. The average construction sector index reading was 54.1 in Q1 2018, down from 54.7 in Q4 2017, 55.3 in Q3 2017 and 57.2 in Q2 2017,” the report said.