Latest from Economy ME
Economy ME
2 hours ago
- Business
- Economy ME
Dubai real estate market poised for record-breaking summer with $40 billion in transactions: Report
Dubai's real estate market is set for its most active summer on record, with total transaction volumes anticipated to exceed $40 billion between June and August 2025. According to analytics reviewed by real estate agency Elite Merit Real Estate LLC , the market surged to AED142.7 billion ($38.9 billion) in Q1 2025 alone—marking a 22 percent year-on-year increase and laying the groundwork for summer spending in the AED150–160 billion ($41–44 billion) range. In comparison, Summer 2024 concluded with just over $33 billion in total transactions, positioning this year's forecast for a potential 25–30 percent seasonal increase. A key driver of this trend is the maturing development pipeline. Projects launched in 2023–24 are now entering their final construction stages, providing investors in Summer 2025 with a last-chance opportunity to secure units before completion-linked price increases take effect. Off-plan activity now comprises over 63 percent of all transactions—up from 54 percent last year—underscoring the growing confidence in the city's development trajectory. This surge in activity is unfolding against a favorable backdrop: sustained price appreciation, strong off-plan momentum, and improving macroeconomic conditions are combining to create what many perceive as a limited-time opportunity for global investors. Apartments are projected to appreciate by 6–9 percent year-on-year, while villa prices could increase by 7–10 percent, supported by tight inventory and ongoing international demand. Off-plan units in emerging areas such as Arjan and JVC are expected to yield capital gains of 15–25 percent by handover. Off-plan activity has grown to over 63 percent of transactions, reflecting rising confidence in Dubai's real estate market. Read more: Summer real estate boom in Dubai to drive record sales, rentals: Report New opportunities for buyers Historically a quieter quarter due to seasonal travel, Q3 now presents buyers with enhanced negotiation leverage. Developers are responding to this dynamic with attractive post-handover payment plans and limited-time summer incentives, particularly in the mid-luxury segment. 'Summer 2025 offers a compelling value window that we expect will close quickly by Q4,' said Elkhan Salikhov, CEO at Elite Merit Real Estate. 'We're seeing a convergence of factors—pricing still below peak, soft summer inventory pressure, and upcoming project handovers—creating an ideal moment for experienced buyers.'
Economy ME
21 hours ago
- Business
- Economy ME
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 4.25 percent citing a 'highly unpredictable world'
The Bank of England (BoE) maintained the U.K. interest rates at 4.25 percent on Thursday, citing a 'highly unpredictable world' as the reason for this decision. The Bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted with a majority of six to three in favor of keeping rates unchanged. Three committee members—Swati Dhingra, Dave Ramsden, and Alan Taylor—voted to lower the rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4 percent. Despite Thursday's decision, the Bank emphasized that interest rates are on a 'downward path.' The Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 6-3 to keep interest rates at 4.25% Find out more: — Bank of England (@bankofengland) June 19, 2025 Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, stated: 'Interest rates remain on a gradual downward path, although we've left them on hold today. The world is highly unpredictable. In the U.K. we are seeing signs of softening in the labour market. We will be looking carefully at the extent to which those signs feed through to consumer price inflation.' The last time the Bank cut interest rates was in May, when they were reduced by 0.25 percent to the current level of 4.25 percent. U.K. consumer prices increased by 3.4 percent in May on an annualized basis, representing a rise of 0.8 percentage points compared to March. Economists have chosen to overlook the reading from April due to a correction in the Office for National Statistics data. Read more: Bank of England slashes interest rates to 4.25 percent amid global trade uncertainty Norway's first rate cut since pandemic In a similar move, Norway's central bank has reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent, marking the first cut since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Norges Bank had indicated in March that it anticipated lowering its key sight deposit rate in June and has now followed through on that plan. 'Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March, and the inflation outlook for the coming year indicates lower inflation than previously expected,' stated Ida Wolden Bache, the central bank's governor. 'A cautious normalization of the policy rate will pave the way for inflation to return to target without restricting the economy more than necessary.' The interest rate cuts were largely anticipated by economists.
Economy ME
a day ago
- Business
- Economy ME
Visa expands stablecoin initiatives in CEMEA, partners with African fintech Yellow Card
Visa announced on Thursday significant advancements in its stablecoin initiatives, with expanded settlement capabilities in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region and a strategic partnership with Yellow Card , a leading pan-African fintech. Visa's latest efforts further underscore its vision for transforming money movement and building the next generation of payment infrastructure through innovative technology. With the payments landscape more dynamic and competitive than ever, stablecoins are emerging as one of the most promising tools for faster and more accessible digital payments 'In 2025, we believe that every institution that moves money will need a stablecoin strategy. As more players in the payments ecosystem explore this powerful new technology, Visa stands ready to help our partners navigate the transformation, bringing the scale, trust and innovation needed to help build the next generation of global payments,' said Godfrey Sullivan, Visa's senior vice president and head of product and solution for CEMEA. Enabling USD cross-border transactions through blockchain Visa said it is expanding its stablecoin settlement solution to select issuers and acquirers in CEMEA, enabling USD cross-border transactions through blockchain technology. This initiative helps reduce settlement costs, enhances liquidity management and can support 365-day settlements, including weekends and holidays. In 2023, the digital payments leader became one of the first major networks to settle transactions in stablecoin when it piloted enabling clients to fulfill their settlement obligations in USDC. To date, over $225 million in stablecoin volume has been settled through Visa across participating clients. Read: How regulation and innovation are positioning the UAE as a global leader in emerging market investments Exploring stablecoin use cases Visa is also partnering with Yellow Card, a leading pan-African fintech, to explore stablecoin use cases and opportunities across markets where Yellow Card is licensed to operate to help streamline treasury operations and enhance liquidity management. 'Together with Visa, we're building a bridge between traditional finance and the future of money movement. We look forward to continuing to innovate new solutions that can transform how money moves for even more secure, efficient and transparent payment solutions,' said Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card. The partnership seeks to test integration opportunities with Visa Direct to further investigate and expand cross-border payment options. As one of the world's largest digital payments networks, Visa Direct enables secure and seamless funds delivery across more than 190 countries and territories.
Economy ME
2 days ago
- Business
- Economy ME
Dubai 24-carat gold price today holds steady above AED407 amid rising Middle East tensions
Gold prices remained steady during Asian trading on Wednesday as investors refrained from making significant bets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision, while closely monitoring developments in the Israel-Iran conflict. In Dubai, gold rates showed minor fluctuations, with 24-carat gold priced at AED407.11, while 22-carat gold was valued at AED373.69. Additionally, 21-carat gold was set at AED356.97, and 18-carat gold stood at AED306.83. Spot gold was steady at $3,388.04 an ounce, as of 03:41 GMT (currently trading above $3,393.6). U.S. gold futures showed little movement, remaining at $3,406.50 (currently trading above $3,413.2). 'Gold fluctuated as investors tracked the escalation of risk in the Middle East. Tepid U.S. reports on retail sales, housing, and industrial output bolstered the case for the Fed to cut rates later this year,' analysts at ANZ noted in a report, as cited by Reuters. On Wednesday, Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other, marking the sixth day of air conflict between the two long-time adversaries, despite a call from U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran's unconditional surrender. The U.S. is also deploying additional fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the presence of other warplanes, according to three U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters. Data released on Tuesday indicated that U.S. retail sales fell more than anticipated in May, primarily due to a decline in motor vehicle purchases as the rush to avoid potential tariff-related price increases subsided. Read more: Dubai 24-carat gold price today remains above AED406 as Fed meeting looms, Middle East tensions rise Fed expected to maintain interest rates Meanwhile, the U.S. central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates steady at the conclusion of its policy meeting later today. Attention will also be directed toward the Fed 's updated economic projections and the benchmark interest rate. 'We maintain our forecast that structurally strong central bank buying and the boost to ETF holdings from Fed cuts will raise the gold price to $3,700 per ounce by the end of 2025 and $4,000 by mid-2026,' Goldman Sachs stated in a note. In other news, SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, reported that its holdings increased by 0.43 percent to 945.94 tonnes on Tuesday. Meanwhile, spot silver dipped 0.1 percent to $37.22 per ounce, platinum rose 0.3 percent to $1,266.04, and palladium gained 0.3 percent to $1,054.63.
Economy ME
3 days ago
- Business
- Economy ME
AI is a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity, says ADNOC CEO as company grows U.S. investments
ADNOC aims to grow its U.S. energy investments six-fold to $440 billion in the next 10 years, said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology & UAE Special Envoy for Climate, Group MD & CEO of ADNOC, and Chairman of Masdar. 'For us, the United States is not just a priority, it is an investment imperative,' Jaber said in a Washington event, adding that AI represented a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity. Jaber spotlights key UAE investment in U.S. energy During his participation, Jaber also highlighted the UAE's recent anchor investment in the largest liquefied natural gas plant in Texas, investments in petrochemical plants across the U.S., and a planned addition of 5.5 gigawatts of renewable energy and storage 'from coast to coast.' He also said that UAE renewable energy firm Masdar has just opened an office in Washington, and called investment in the United States an 'investment imperative.' Last month, the ADNOC CEO confirmed that the UAE plans to increase its energy investments in the U.S. to $440 billion by 2035. Al Jaber announced the strategy during a presentation to U.S. President Donald Trump, which took place during his recent visit to the UAE. The value of UAE investments in the U.S. energy sector will be boosted to $440 billion by 2035 from $70 billion now, Al Jaber told Trump, adding that U.S. energy firms will also invest in the UAE. 'Our partners have committed new investments worth $60 billion in upstream oil and gas, as well as new and unconventional opportunities,' Al Jaber said. Read: UAE to raise U.S. energy investments to $440 billion by 2035, says Al Jaber Key deals driving UAE energy investments in U.S. XRG, the international investment arm of ADNOC, is seeking to make a significant investment in U.S. natural gas, Al Jaber said. Notably, ADNOC's stakes in NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG export facility and a planned ExxonMobil hydrogen plant were transferred to XRG, which was launched last year with $80 billion in assets. The company also has a mandate to pursue global deals in chemicals, natural gas and renewables. As part of the $200 billion UAE investment announcement, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum and EOG Resources are partnering with the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for expanded oil and natural gas production valued at $60 billion that will help lower energy costs and create hundreds of skilled jobs in both countries. During Trump's visit to the UAE, Holtec International and IHC Industrial Holding Company (IHC) also entered into a cooperation to build a fleet of Holtec's SMR-300 small modular reactors, starting at the Palisades site in Michigan. This agreement includes a commitment of $10 billion, and an additional $20 billion for fleet projects, helping to revitalize American nuclear energy infrastructure, strengthen domestic energy security, and create high-skilled jobs in engineering, construction and advanced manufacturing across the United States.
