Consumer prices in the United Arab Emirates, the second largest Arab economy, are also set to fall this year as the global financial crisis pressures rents and consumer demand, the Egyptian investment bank said in a research note.

“We believe the impact of the global financial crisis will be particularly harsh in Dubai, compared to the other emirates and the rest of the region,” EFG-Hermes said. “This is because of both the highly leveraged and externally facing nature of the Dubai economy.”