#UAE non-oil private sector shrinks in Jan for first time since 2009: PMI - Reuters

UAE non-oil private sector shrinks in Jan for first time since 2009: PMI - Reuters:

Activity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) private sector shrank in January for the first time since 2009, with jobs in the private non-oil sector declining at one of the strongest rates on record, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which covers manufacturing and services, fell to 49.3 in January from 50.2 in December. Readings above 50 indicate expansion while readings below point to contraction.

Growth in the country’s non-oil private sector slowed last year, hitting a decade-low in December, but January was the first time the private sector shrank since 2009, when the economy was hobbled by a debt crisis in Dubai - one of the seven emirates.

“The IHS Markit UAE PMI continued to worsen in January, and this month fell below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction for the first time in over ten years,” said David Owen, economist at IHS Markit and author of the report.