Consumer confidence on the decline in the UAE

A Nielsen survey showed that consumer confidence has declined in the third quarter of 2015 among shoppers in the UAE. The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index gave UAE a score of 107, a one point drop from the second quarter. Consumer confidence retreated for the second consecutive quarter, hitting the lowest level since 2013. The index results are based on input from 30,000 consumers in 61 countries and takes into account job prospects, personal finance and immediate spending intentions. The survey also suggested:

  • Reason for lower confidence can be attributed to weak oil prices
  • Personal finance sentiment is 60% which fell by four percentage points compared to last quarter
  • Immediate spending intentions are at 43%
  • Job prospects increased by 3% to 65% in the third quarter
  • 44% of the UAE consumers have the intention of saving their spare cash
  • 13% of respondents claimed not to have spare cash

Bank lending growth in the UAE slows down pace

Central bank data published by Reuters showed that the growth of bank lending slowed during September to 7 percent on an annual basis. Other findings included a 0.2 percent drop in money supply on an annual basis by the end of September. This has been the slowest pace since February 2014.

No fee for buying fuel with credit card

The Higher Committee for Consumer Protection has informed petrol stations in the UAE  that they can no longer charge transaction fees for credit cards. The fee of AED 2 was abolished in order to protect consumer rights in the UAE.

Most moving activity in 10 areas of Dubai

Based on a report by MoveSouq.com, most moving activity in Dubai takes places in 10 areas. The report is based on 2500 requests captured on the website between January to September and found that 60% of moving requests were from areas such as Dubai Marina and Downtown. The top area which experienced the highest rate of residents moving-in was Dubai Marina followed by Jumeirah Village and Downtown Dubai.

UAE ranked as one of the most prosperous nations in the world

According to the 2015 Prosperity Index, UAE has been ranked as the 30th most prosperous nation in the world with improvement seen in healthcare, governance and education. In particular, the education sector moved from 39th position in 2014 to 36th. The healthcare sector moved from 37th to 34th position and governance moved from 32nd to 28th  position. The top three countries according to the index were Norway, Switzerland and Denmark.

Compare over 245 credit cards, 96 personal loans, 78 car loans and 72 mortgage products in the UAE.