Global Downturn Is Starting to Gain a Foothold in the Gulf - Bloomberg

Global Downturn Is Starting to Gain a Foothold in the Gulf - Bloomberg:

Sentiment soured further in the United Arab Emirates as a gauge of business conditions in the second-largest Gulf economy slumped to an eight-year low.

In an echo of disputes that have roiled global trade, sales to foreign customers posted a “weaker upturn” and new orders stagnated in the U.A.E. in August, according to IHS Markit. Its Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to 51.6 from 55.1 in July, declining for a third month and edging close to the threshold of 50 that separates contraction from growth.

Fears of a global downturn are deepening as signs of a manufacturing slump have emerged from Europe to Asia. Domestic competitive pressures are compounding the outlook for the U.A.E., a federation of seven emirates that includes oil-rich Abu Dhabi and tourism and trade hub Dubai.