UAE, Mideast economic confidence at 3-year high

DUBAI / Emirates Business

Economic confidence in the UAE and the Middle East rebounded further in the second quarter of the year and is now at its highest level since Q2 2015, despite a slowdown in the global economic recovery that started in late 2016, finds the latest edition of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA Global Economic Conditions survey.
The key factor behind the recovery in confidence is the sharp rise in the oil price, which peaked at $80 per barrel in late May, compared with a low of just $35 per barrel at the start of 2016. This has resulted in an increase in revenues coupled with the introduction of VAT in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which has led to an ease in fiscal austerity.
Lindsay Degouve de Nuncques, Head of ACCA Middle East states, “The economic outlook across the Middle East and the UAE will continue to be driven mostly by the oil price and changes in fiscal policy. It’s good to see the improvement in confidence across the Middle East region, and while oil prices are a key factor behind this, expenditure for the 2020 World Expo in Dubai has also helped.”