Dubai’s non-oil private sector sees strong growth in Nov

DUBAI / Emirates Business

Dubai’s non-oil private sector recorded a stronger improvement during the month of November, reflecting faster expansions in business activity and new work and a stable trend in employment, according to data from Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index.
The three main sectors monitored registered stronger performances, with construction seeing the fastest growth, followed by wholesale & retail, and travel & tourism industries. The survey covers the Dubai non-oil private sector economy, with additional sector data published for travel & tourism, wholesale & retail and construction.
Commenting on the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker, Khatija Haque, Head of Mena Research at Emirates NBD, said: “The headline Dubai Economy Tracker Index clim-bed to 55.3 in November, up from 52.5 in October. This marked the strongest reading in five months, and something of a recovery following the October reading.”
“Output saw a substantial improvement last month, climbing from 56.5 to 61.1. New work also rose at a faster rate, at 59.9, up from 54.5 in October. However, this is being supported by ongoing cuts to output prices by firms, which fell to 45.8 in November, the second-lowest reading in the eight-year series. At the same time, input prices rose at a faster rate, from 52.1 in October, to 54.1 last month. As such, margin pressures on firms continue to intensify. Employment made a modest return to expansionary territory at 50.2 last month, following two consecutive months of sub-50.0 readings, but only 2.9 percent of respondents saw an increase in headcount.