UAE trade surplus soars by 36 percent in 2011

According to Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), UAE’s trade surplus has increased by 36 percent to USD86.2 billion, from USD63.5 billion a year earlier. The Abu Dhabi-based AMF added that in the year, exports of goods grew to nearly USD265 billion, whereas imports were at USD179.3 billion. It also said that high oil prices, which reached around USD105 a barrel, managed to turn a federal budget deficit of 1.3 percent of gross domestic surplus (GDP) in 2010 into a surplus of around 6.5 percent in 2011. It is worth noting that the UAE's current account surplus is forecasted to have increased to around 10.4 percent of GDP.