While the sharp drop in oil prices this year may be making politicians in the petroleum-exporting economies of the Arabian Gulf a bit jittery, a strengthening US dollar has meant good news for the region’s consumers as durable imports such as mobile phones and cars get cheaper.
In Dubai, which is one of the world’s biggest trading hubs after Hong Kong and Singapore, this is not only welcomed by residents facing increasing housing, utility and school fees costs but also by the UAE’s government, as the dollar’s climb of more than 10 per cent against the world’s major currencies also means that the emirate can import more for the same amount of money, bolstering its revenues from trade.
In turn, that – along with its focus of attracting tourists and building itself into the region’s financial centre – lessens the country’s reliance on hydrocarbons as a source of revenue. This is especially urgent in a year when the price of Brent crude has dropped nearly 50 per cent amid waning demand and an increase in supply from countries like the United States.
“Dubai’s trade statistics for the first nine months of 2014 clearly show the emirate’s solid foothold as a regional and international trading and investment hub, as it maintained a high value despite the global decline in commodity prices,” Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, the director of Dubai Customs, said yesterday. “This reflects Dubai’s trading capability to increase the volume of foreign trade, including imports, exports and re-exports, to compensate for any drop in prices.”
Dubai’s non-oil trade in the first nine months of 2014 totalled Dh988 billion, with imports accounting for Dh621bn, re-exports Dh280bn and exports Dh86bn, Dubai Customs data released yesterday showed. That compares to total non-oil trade of Dh1 trillion and Dh610bn of imports in the same period last year. This year, phones topped imports, rising 8 per cent from the previous year to a value of Dh129.4bn, while the value of car imports increased 31 per cent to Dh48.6bn, the Dubai government said.
China was Dubai’s top trading partner, followed by India and the US. Saudi Arabia was fourth overall.
Inflation in Dubai began to ease last month as the effects from the recent drop in commodity prices filtered through to consumers. Prices in November gained 4.15 per cent year-on-year, compared with a 4.38 per cent increase in October year-on-year, according to data released by the Dubai Statistics Centre, as food costs fell and the rate of rent rises slowed.
While the value of trade has not risen significantly from the same period last year, volumes have.
DP World, one of the world’s biggest port operators, said in October that the volume of containers it handled in the first nine months of the year through its UAE ports including Jebel Ali gained 12.6 per cent, boosted by growth in business in the Asia-Pacific region, Indian subcontinent region, Europe and the UAE.
And that is mainly because of the appreciation of the dollar and the fact that Asia and Europe are the UAE’s main trading partners. While the peg to the dollar compels the UAE and other Arabian Gulf economies to follow US monetary policy, it has the benefit of giving it the strength and stability of tracking the world’s de facto currency – especially as the greenback firms against other currencies such as the euro and the yen, making imports from Europe and Japan cheaper.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the currency against 10 major peers, has risen 11 per cent this year, set for the biggest annual gain since 2004. The dollar has gained 14 per cent this year against the yen, a third straight annual advance. It has risen 13 per cent against the euro, the biggest gain since 2005.
“You have to be long-term bullish on the dollar next year,” Rob Zukowski, a senior technical analyst at 4Cast based in New York, told Reuters.
Still, that may be a small consolation amid the declining price of oil, an export commodity that provides the country with more than 50 per cent of its revenue. Concern over the more than 45 per cent slide in crude prices has roiled UAE equity markets in recent weeks as investors fret that the economy will be dented by falling oil revenues.
Oil producers, led by Opec, are betting that an improvement in the global economy will boost demand for crude.
mkassem@thenational.ae
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‘White Elephant’
Director: Jesse V Johnson
Stars: Michael Rooker, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Olga Kurylenko
Rating: 3/5
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90+4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
HAJJAN
Director: Abu Bakr Shawky
Starring: Omar Alatawi, Tulin Essam, Ibrahim Al-Hasawi
Rating: 4/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450
Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000
Engine: 3.0L V6 biturbo
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 369hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm at 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.0L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
THE SPECS
Battery: 60kW lithium-ion phosphate
Power: Up to 201bhp
0 to 100kph: 7.3 seconds
Range: 418km
Price: From Dh149,900
Available: Now
Specs: 2024 McLaren Artura Spider
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and electric motor
Max power: 700hp at 7,500rpm
Max torque: 720Nm at 2,250rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100km/h: 3.0sec
Top speed: 330kph
Price: From Dh1.14 million ($311,000)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.