{"id":34369,"date":"2025-09-21T04:29:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T04:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/34369\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T04:29:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T04:29:20","slug":"uae-central-bank-raises-economic-growth-forecast-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/34369\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE Central Bank raises economic growth forecast for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UAE Central Bank<\/a> has increased its 2025 growth forecast for the country\u2019s economy from 4.4 per cent to 4.9 per cent, as a surge in non-oil activity drives momentum.<\/p>\n

The economy is projected to further expand by 5.3 per cent in 2026, the banking regulator said in its Quarterly Economic Review report<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Overall, in the first quarter of the year, the UAE\u2019s economy<\/a> grew by 3.9 per cent year-on-year. Non-oil gross domestic product expanded by 5.3 per cent over the same quarter, on the back of strong performance by sectors including manufacturing, financial services, construction and real estate.<\/p>\n

The revised projection for this year is supported by the \u201canticipated strong momentum in the non-hydrocarbon activities<\/a> and a robust increase in the hydrocarbon sector following updated Opec+ production plans<\/a>\u201d, the Central Bank said.<\/p>\n

The forecasts are largely in line with Emirates NBD’s expectations this year of “about 5 per cent headline GDP growth” thanks to expansion in the oil and non-oil sectors, Edward Bell, acting group head of research and chief economist at Emirates NBD, said in a research note on Friday. <\/p>\n

The UAE Cabinet on Wednesday announced the launch of the National Policy for Economic Clusters, with the goal of boosting the country’s gross domestic product by more than Dh30 billion ($8 billion) a year. <\/p>\n

“The focus will be on enhancing the UAE\u2019s knowledge economy with specific clusters dedicated to financial services, tourism, space, communications and data as well as food,” Mr Bell said.<\/p>\n

The UAE has been boosting efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. Non-oil GDP rose 5.3 per cent rise on a yearly basis in the first quarter, rising to Dh352 billion, contributing more than 77 per cent of total real GDP, preliminary estimates released this month by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre have shown. The country\u2019s overall GDP from January to March rose to Dh455 billion.<\/p>\n

Oil-related activities accounted for 22.7 per cent of GDP in the first three months of 2025, official data showed. Non-oil private sector activity in the UAE also rose in August, with the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers\u2019 Index climbing to 53.3, from 52.9 in July.<\/p>\n

The Central Bank on Wednesday lowered its benchmark interest rate, mimicking the US Federal Reserve\u2019s move to lower its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point, from 4 per cent to 4.25 per cent. <\/p>\n

The UAE regulator said it would cut the base rate applied to its overnight deposit facility by 25 basis points to 4.15 per cent, from 4.40 per cent previously.<\/p>\n

Inflation in the UAE has also eased, thanks to lower energy and food costs, the Central Bank said in its quarterly report. Prices increased 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, with the regulator lowering its 2025 inflation forecast to 1.5 per cent on moderating transport costs, as well as food and non-energy commodity prices. Inflation is expected to edge up slightly to 1.8 per cent in 2026.<\/p>\n

Growth in the UAE has been supported by manufacturing, real estate, financial services and construction sectors, Mr Bell added. <\/p>\n

The real estate sector remained buoyant in the first five months of the year, with residential sales rising 13.7 per cent annually during the period, the Central Bank said. Off-plan sales climbed 14.3 per cent, while ready home transactions also saw double-digit growth. <\/p>\n

Tourism also expanded, with Dubai welcoming nearly 10 million international visitors in the first half of the year, up 6.1 per cent annually. Passenger traffic through the Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports topped about 62 million combined.<\/p>\n

The UAE banking sector also performed strongly, with bank deposits up more than 13 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, while lending was up 11 per cent, the Central Bank data showed. Asset quality improved, too, with capital buffers staying well above regulatory requirements.<\/p>\n

Killing of Qassem SuleimaniThe five pillars of IslamICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand<\/p>\n

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final<\/p>\n

KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANIMore from Neighbourhood Watch:Killing of Qassem SuleimaniUAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsThe five pillars of IslamEA Sports FC 26<\/p>\n

Publisher: EA Sports<\/p>\n

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4\/5, Xbox Series X\/S<\/p>\n

Rating: 3\/5<\/p>\n

More on animal traffickingKilling of Qassem SuleimaniMohammed bin Zayed MajlisThe%20specs<\/p>\n

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E153hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E200Nm%20at%204%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6.3L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh106%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A<\/p>\n

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsMohammed bin Zayed MajlisMore on Quran memorisation:More on animal traffickingNew process leads to panic among jobseekers<\/p>\n

As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,\u201d says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.<\/p>\n

Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs \u2013 which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

More from Neighbourhood Watch:Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UAE Central Bank has increased its 2025 growth forecast for the country\u2019s economy from 4.4 per cent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,11721,219,1943,111,139,69,1177,427,32197],"class_list":["post-34369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-business-team","tag-economy","tag-inflation","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-standard","tag-story","tag-uae-central-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}