Abu Dhabi's economy is recovering from impacts of the global economic crisis with business and consumer confidence rising, a set of new indicators for the Gulf Arab oil-exporting emirate showed on Sunday. The worst global recession since the 1930s slashed income for Gulf Arab oil producers, depressing the region's key economies, like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
But Abu Dhabi, the key oil producer among seven emirates that form the UAE federation, said signs of revival are emerging. Abu Dhabi contributes around two thirds to the UAE's total gross domestic product.
"It (new indicators) reflects positive performance of the economy," said Mohammed Omar Abdulla, under-secretary at the emirate's Department of Economic Development.
Abu Dhabi's new business climate indicator of future expectations climbed higher into the positive territory, reaching 68.01 in the third quarter of this year, up from 56.96 in the second quarter. Another quarterly index, showing how corporates assess current conditions, cleared the no-change 50.0 level, scoring 53.55 compared with a bearish reading of 49.49 in April-June.
Average consumer confidence in the emirate rose to 138 in July to September from 125 in the previous three months, the inaugural release showed. It will be released on a monthly basis.