The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for economic growth in the United Arab Emirates as a result of expectations of higher oil production and government spending.
The second largest economy in the Arab world is expected to grow by 2.9 percent this year and 3.7 percent next year.
GDP grew by 0.8% in 2017. The IMF forecast in April that the economy would expand by 2% this year and by 3% in 2019.
The easing of the oil production cut-off agreement between global producers in mid-2018 allowed the UAE to start increasing production while high oil prices gave more money to spend. The UAE cabinet approved yesterday a 17.3 percent increase in the federal budget for 2019 compared to the current year.
