Dubai's economy shrank by 3.5% in first quarter
Thursday, 07 02 2020, Category: Economy, Country: U.A.E
Dubai's real gross domestic product shrank by 3.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, the government's media office said in a statement on Tuesday, as the Middle East's business and tourism hub feels the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
Citing data from the emirate's statistics centre, the government said some sectors such as real estate and finance had however kept momentum despite the pandemic.
"Dubai's economy witnessed healthy levels of growth in 2019. It was expected that in the first quarter of 2020, the economy will experience a decline due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Arif Al Muhairi, executive director of Dubai Statistics Center.
In 2019 Dubai's GDP reached 407.2 billion dirhams ($110.87 billion), a rise of 2.2% year on year, the statement said.
Trade, transport and storage activities shrank in the first quarter, with trading activity - the largest contributor to the emirate's economy - down by 7.5% year on year.
Source:
finance.yahoo.com