Thursday 5 February 2009

UAE has weapons to ease liquidity

Liquidity in the United Arab Emirates is tight and this is putting the economy under pressure. Ensuring that liquidity conditions improve should be a policy priority – and the sooner it happens, the better.

Throughout last year markets anticipated a revaluation of Gulf Co-operation Council currencies. As a result, the region received strong capital inflows, but these were largely speculative and short-term in nature. This created a problem since the bulk of these short-term deposits ended up being loaned out longer-term. The flows had a very pro-cyclical impact on the Gulf and added to the economic boom.

Now, however, the inflows have been reversed, which has led to a tightening in liquidity, just as economic growth has begun to slow.

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