This is one of those Twilight Zone statements we get in the UAE which basically tell us nothing and are really not even good propaganda.  So, let me make my own prediction: the UAE will (or will not) enter recession this year.  Got that?

The Governor of the UAE Central Bank, Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, said on Wednesday that the country is not going into recession this year.

“There could be a low single-digit economic growth in the year 2009”, he said, while speaking to reporters after meeting with a French delegation headed by Christian Noyer, Governor of Central Bank of France, here in the capital.

The Governor’s comments come at a time when private sector economists are forecasting a low growth in the range of 0.0-2.0 per cent this year, declining from estimated 6.0 per cent in 2008. In the last quarter of 2008, the UAE started experiencing significant economic headwinds as a result of global economic crisis. The country’s two main stock exchanges in Dubai and Abu Dhabi fell 72.5 per cent and 47.5 per cent respectively in 2008 and have continued to slide downwards since the beginning of 2009. The recent fall in oil prices to $35 a barrel is also expected to significantly affect the oil revenues. The UAE’s oil revenue is projected to be about $84 billion in 2009 from $106.5 billion in 2008.

Asked whether economic recovery can take place in the second half of the year, as some analysts are forecasting, Al Suwaidi said, “I cannot expect anything at this point in time… I am not a magician… as it will also depend on the circumstances because things on economic front are evolving.” He also added that the Ministry of Economy was the competent body to give outlook on economic growth…SOURCE