Gulf Industry Magazine helps you catch up with the numbers behind economic and industrial developments in the region.
 

UAE-US non-oil trade volume reached $30bn

THE non-oil trade volume between UAE and US touched $30.6 billion in 2017, according to a report. A report issued by the UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Policy Review of the US shows that despite shifts in the US trade policy towards increasing protectionism across multiple sectors, the US remains committed to working with all WTO members in maintaining fair and reciprocal trade partnerships.  With its accession to the Trade Facilitation Agreement during the Trade Policy Review period, the report mentioned that the US had provided the organisation with many notifications covering various sectors such as agriculture, anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing measures. 20 countries now have 14 valid free trade agreements with US covering goods and services. WTO’s review noted that there are no changes to the US foreign investment policies as they maintain existing open policies, except for limited audits and restrictions on foreign investment in a few industries, especially aviation, nuclear power.

Saudi non-oil sees high growth in new orders

SAUDI ARABIA’S non-oil private sector witnessed an upturn in business conditions in February led by a steep and accelerated increase in new business – the sharpest seen since August 2015, said Emirates NBD in its latest PMI survey.

The Emirates NBD Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Saudi Arabia, sponsored by Emirates NBD and produced by IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information and analytics, contains original data collected from a monthly survey of business conditions in the Saudi Arabian private sector.

Commenting on the Saudi Arabia PMI survey, Khatija Haque, head of Mena Research at Emirates NBD, said: “Saudi Arabia’s headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose modestly to 56.6 in February from 56.2 in January, the highest reading since December 2017. However, the February PMI reading is still below the series average of 57.6, indicating that non-oil growth in the kingdom is still weaker than the long-run average.”

“The main driver for the improvement in February was a stronger rise in new orders, despite the second consecutive decline in new export orders. This suggests that it is domestic demand driving order growth.  The output index rose slightly last month as well.”

ME industrial valves market ‘to hit $4.7bn’

THE Middle East industrial valves market size is projected to reach $4.7 billion by 2024, said 6Wresearch, a global marketing and consulting firm, in a new report.

Burgeoning power and energy sectors along with emerging manufacturing industries in the Middle East countries would act as some of the key factors which would drive the industrial valves market during the forecast period, according to the report titled ““Middle East Industrial Valves Market (2018-2024)”.

Industrial valves market in the Middle East region witnessed a decline in growth during 2014-17 due to the oil crisis which led to slowdown in several projects, primarily the demand for valves in Middle East region.

However, with the shift of Middle East government’s investment towards the non-oil sector projects, majorly towards industrial and manufacturing sector, the market for industrial valves is expected to witness mounting adoption by different end-user applications ranging from oil and gas facilities, power & energy to petrochemical, fertilizer, and water & wastewater treatment plants over the coming years.

UAE non-oil sector sees slowdown in February

THE UAE’s non-oil private sector experienced a slowdown in February, led by a much weaker rise in new business than was seen in the previous month, said Emirates NBD in its latest PMI survey for the UAE. Meanwhile, companies lowered their staffing levels at the sharpest pace since the survey began in August 2009 and business confidence dropped. The rate of input cost inflation remained muted, while price discounting continued as firms competed to secure new work.

Non-oil foreign trade via Abu Dhabi ports up

THE value of non-oil foreign merchandise trade through Abu Dhabi ports increased by 6.8 per cent from Dh156.2 billion ($42.5 billion) in 2017 to Dh166.9 billion ($45,4 billion) in 2018, a media report said. This was the result of a 23.8 per cent increase in non-oil exports from Dh22.3 billion to Dh27.7 billion, 20.7 per cent increase in re-exports, and 0.7 per cent increase in imports, reported Emirates news agency Wam, citing figures released by Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre (SCAD). ‘’Total trade increased by 14.7 per cent in December 2018 compared with December 2017 due to an increase in non-oil exports and re-exports by 114.2 per cent, and 29.6 per cent respectively, while the value of imports decreased by 6.9 per cent in the same period,’’ the report added.

UAE GDP grows 4.4 per cent in Q4 2018

DRIVEN by increased buoyancy in non-oil sector, and accelerated growth in oil production from October to December 2018, the UAE gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.4 per cent in Q4 2018 as compared to the corresponding period of 2017, according to Central Bank of UAE statistics.

A CBUAE Quarterly Review indicated slower oil prices in Q4, during which rates increased by 9.8 per cent against 44.5 per cent in preceding quarter, reported state news agency Wam.

On a quarterly basis, prices were down 10.2 per cent after they had been up 1.0 per cent in Q3. In the meantime, real non-oil GDP remained resilient in Q4 with economic sentiments indicators relatively improving, and domestic credit to private sector up 3.9 per cent by the end of December as compared to the corresponding period in 2017. In the meantime, retail loans remarkably increased during the same period by 8 per cent after they were down 1 per cent by the end of September 2018.

Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade hits $354bn

DUBAI’S external non-oil trade in 2018 reached Dh1.3 trillion ($353.93 billion) despite challenges facing global trade growth resulting from trade tensions between major economic powers and a global growth slowdown, said a report.

The latest trade figures show that Dubai is moving forward steadily as a leading international and regional trade hub that efficiently connects diverse international markets. The emirate’s overall trade performance reflects its status as one of the world’s best-performing trade logistics service providers, said the Wam news agency report. According to Dubai Customs, trade through free zones in 2018 grew by 23 per cent to Dh532 billion. Direct trade touched Dh757 billion while customs warehouse trade weighed in at Dh10.4 billion. Re-exports grew 12 percent to Dh402 billion, while imports totalled Dh770 billion ($209.64 billion) and exports Dh127 billion.