Dubai returns to growth as business activity rebounds

Dubai returns to growth as business activity rebounds

Dubai's businesses indicated a return to growth at the end of 2020 amid a strong rebound in activity and a faster increase in new work, market research for December shows.

However, employment numbers in private sector companies continued to fall as sentiment for the upcoming year was still subdued, the IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers' Index survey report said.

The PMI index, which is derived from individual diffusion indices that measure changes in output, new orders, employment, suppliers' delivery times and stocks of purchased goods, rose above the 50.0 no-change mark in December, posting 51.0 (from 49.0 in November) to indicate a modest expansion in the non-oil economy, and the first seen for three months.

The survey, which covers the Dubai non-oil private sector economy with additional sector data published for travel & tourism, wholesale & retail and construction, showed weak cost pressures in December, supporting a further drop in selling prices, albeit at the slowest rate since May.

Business analysts said with the reopening of air, land and sea border with Qatar after three-and-a-half years, Dubai stands to benefit most in the region with an expected resurgence in cross border trade,