AED 97.1 billion current account surplus during 2017

Media In – Abu Dhabi 28 May 2018 / WAM /
The current account surplus increased from AED 48.5 billion – 3.7% of GDP in 2016 to AED 97.1 billion in 2017 – 6.9% of GDP.
The increase in the surplus during the year 2017 is due to the increase in the trade balance surplus which is mainly related to the developments in oil prices and the improvement in economic activity. The increase in the trade balance surplus is due to the increase in investment income and the decrease in the balance of services, despite the large deficit in remittances in 2017.
Hydrocarbon exports rose by 25.1% to AED 42.9 billion compared to 2016 as a result of the rise in crude oil prices and other products.
This increase coincided with an increase of 0.3%, or 1.1 billion dirhams, in non-hydrocarbon exports.
As a result, FOB exports increased by AED 49.5 billion, or 4.6%.
In terms of services, the increase in the number of tourists and the improvement in economic activity led to an increase in the accounts of the creditor and the debtor of the services. The subaccounts for travel and transport items accounted for 69% of the accounts payable and 37% of the accounts receivable. The net travel item recorded an inflow of AED 12.5 billion, Billion dirhams in 2016 and increased tourism revenues to the UAE registered an increase of 8%, however, the growth rate decreased because of low spending per passenger.
Net investment income rose by an inflow of 10.2 billion dirhams in 2017 as a result of higher interest rates and oil prices. As for remittances, there were different trends and public sector transfers fell slightly.