The United Arab Emirates' non-oil import growth more than doubled to 22.3 percent year-on-year in May compared with April but exports and re-exports slowed sharply, data showed on Sunday, highlighting risks of global slowdown to the OPEC member's economy.
Non-oil foreign trade in the UAE, the world's No.4 oil exporter and key Gulf business hub, picked up strongly early this year helped by economic expansion in Asia following local debt woes in most of 2010.
In May, import growth accelerated from 11.0 percent seen in the previous month after quickening steadily since December, showing recovery in domestic demand.
However, growth in re-exports, which account for 22 percent of the overall UAE non-oil trade, halved to 7.0 percent in May from 14.4 percent in the previous month, data from the UAE Federal Customs Authority showed.
Non-oil export growth fell to 21.4 percent year-on-year from 58.8 percent in April. The authority does not provide figures for oil exports, which account for more than 40 percent of the total.
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