The UAE’s bank deposit figures for July 2021 just came in yesterday, courtesy of the UAE Central Bank (CBUAE), and it looks like there’s a lot of cash out there sitting pretty. The CBUAE announced a $1.8b increase in bank deposits for July, over last month’s, which amounted to total deposits of $531b and a 0.3% increase.
The increase is primarily driven by a rise in non-resident deposits, which outpaced resident deposits by 220 basis points. As the UAE economy is on its way to recovery, the CBUAE also revised its forecasts for economic growth upwards – projecting a 4% increase in GDP this year.
Why it matters
While higher deposits might indicate low spending, the economic recovery shows otherwise. Just a month ago, during the same period the deposits are concerned with, consumer spending in the UAE for Q2 2021 increased at a faster pace than in Q2 2019.
