National Bureau of Statistics: UAE to grow 3.2 percent

National Bureau of Statistics: UAE to grow 3.2 percent

More significant growth expected on the back of rising demand for oil, but predictions contrast with IMF figures.

May 29, 2010 3:00 by Samuel Potter

The UAE economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent in 2010, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, reports Zawya.com.

The larger than expected rise will be on the back of a pickup in global oil demand. Minister of economy Sultan Al Mansouri said a price of $85 a barrel would sustain the economic growth.

“The range [of economic growth] I wish to see is between 2 percent and 2.5 percent,” Al Mansouri said. That growth can be supported by an oil price of $75 a barrel, says the report.

The National Bureau of Statistics says the UAE’s economy grew only 1.3 percent in 2009 thanks to the economic downturn. But the UAE’s own numbers contrast with recent figures published by the International Monetary Fund, which predicted growth of 1.3 percent this year for the country after a contraction of 0.7 percent in 2009.

Al Mansouri said the IMF figures are “not necessarily as accurate” as the country’s own. “We would recommend that you take our figures,” he said.