#UAE economy to contract by 3.6% this year, central bank says - Reuters

UAE economy to contract by 3.6% this year, central bank says - Reuters:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) economy is likely to contract by 3.6% this year after economic activity slowed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said on Wednesday.

In the first quarter of this year, the UAE economy shrank by 1% year on year, with non-oil gross domestic product down by 3%, as opposed to hydrocarbon GDP, which rose by 3.7% year on year.

“As the drop in economic activity is expected to be followed by sharp contractions in the subsequent quarters, non-energy growth contraction is projected at (minus)-4.1% for 2020,” the central bank said in a first-quarter report.

Hydrocarbon GDP is expected to shrink 2.4% this year, it said.