The UAE was not immune from the economic fall out of the COVID-19 pandemic, although being a rich state beforehand, it was able to mitigate some more serious issues. The cornerstones of the business environment are transport, trade, and tourism, and following one of the world’s toughest lockdowns, there were impacts across all three. Tourism ground to a halt, the transport industry wasn’t in demand, and trade was slowed by disruptions across the supply chain. The International Monetary Fund estimated a 6.6% decrease in the GDP for the UAE in 2020. Part of this was also driven by low, falling to negative, oil prices.

That said, the government was swift to provide various fiscal and policy-based mechanisms to support the economy. A series of stimulus packages were passed, injecting more than 18% of the GDP, some 100 billion AED.

Staying on top of the markets

While the AED has performed well, all things considered, it’s still not a time for complacency. Those with businesses, startup entrepreneurs, and general investors need to stay on top of the performance of the AED against other currencies like the USD, EUR, and GBP.

Not only does this help to give a broad understanding of the overall economic situation in the region, but it can provide signals and tips for trading forex and other assets as well. From CFDs on sites like https://www.infinox.com/en to the exchange of the actual underlying asset, understanding market movements is the key to success.