UAE economic growth accelerates to 4.4% in 2012

Economic growth in the United Arab Emirates accelerated to 4.4 percent in inflation-adjusted terms in 2012 from a downwardly revised 3.9 percent the previous year as activity picked up across all sectors, according to the recent statement by the statistics office. All economic activities saw positive improvement in their growth rates in 2012, which has positively reflected on the value of the country's GDP it said. Oil prices averaged $112 per barrel last year, up from $109 in 2011, the office said, adding that the non-oil sector share on the Gulf country's real GDP was estimated at 67.3 percent in 2012. Analysts polled by Reuters in April forecast GDP growth in the UAE, the second largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, to slow to 3.3 percent this year.