Dubai’s non-oil private sector economy further improved in August as businesses continued to recover with the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions.
However, the increase in output was the softest in three months as the pace of demand growth slowed.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Purchasing Managers' Index reading was above the neutral 50 mark for a second month running.
August's reading of 50.9, which slipped from 51.7 in July, signalled a marginal improvement in business conditions.
“Business activity rose solidly, but the expansion was markedly weaker than in July,” said David Owen, an economist at IHS Markit.
“[Companies] have not seen a full-scale uplift in demand to pre-pandemic levels.”
New work increased solidly in August, with the rate of growth only slightly weaker than July’s eight-month high.
However, this was the first time since April that the output index reading had weakened.
Despite an increase in sales, customer demand remained subdued in general, according to the companies surveyed.
“Where [companies] raised output, this was largely attributed to higher demand and an improved market situation [after] the easing of lockdown measures,” the survey said.
Like other countries, Dubai introduced various measures in April to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Most restrictions have since been removed and the emirate is now open to international tourists.
Authorities also introduced several measures to help businesses recover from the virus-induced slowdown.
The Dubai government announced an economic stimulus package worth Dh1.5 billion in July, bringing the total support given to businesses to Dh6.3bn.
While output and new orders increased in August, the growth of the construction, wholesale and retail sectors in the emirate softened.
The travel and tourism sector registered a dip in business conditions, but that remained modest overall and the speed of decline was unchanged from July, according to the survey.
Job cuts gathered pace as companies continued to reduce capacity and employee costs.
The fall in workforce numbers was broadly in line with the average over the six-month sequence of decline, the survey said.
“Demand weakness drove a further cut to jobs in August ... broadly level with the trend over this [coronavirus]-affected period,” Mr Owen said.
Business optimism also weakened last month with some companies expecting activity to improve.
However, others cited the pandemic's “unpredictability” as an impediment to recovery.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Tottenham (Alli 61'), Davies (70')
Red card Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The years Ramadan fell in May
More on animal trafficking
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
More on animal trafficking
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
