Waiting On A Miracle!                          11 September 2026

The latest report from Cavendish Maxwell points to the August Dubai property market entering its first annual decline in five and a half years – indicating a shift towards a more measured property market, after an extended period of strong sales and price growth. On the year, August average residential sales prices dipped 1.7% to US$ 446 per sq mt, as prices fell 1.3% over the past three months. Nevertheless, Dubai residential sales reached US$ 6.38 billion in August, and US$ 73.57 billion YTD. In August, almost ten thousand, nine hundred homes were sold – 14% lower on the month – down to the traditional summer slowdown in buyer activity; off plan sales accounted for about 75% of the monthly sales. However, YTD transaction values were 24% lower on the year. It is not too difficult to agree with Ronan Arthur, Director and Head of Residential Valuation at Cavendish Maxwell, saying “prices are softening and the market is entering a more mature cycle”, and that the fundamentals supporting demand for Dubai property remain intact, while fewer launches, regional uncertainty and a broader normalisation in buyer activity are shaping the near-term market.

According to a Betterhomes’ August analysis of Dubai Land Department data, Palm Jumeirah has lost its position, as Dubai’s busiest prime property address, to Business Bay which registered fourteen prime transactions, four more than the former front runner; Downtown Dubai came in third with eight sales. The uptick in the sale of prime property in Business Bay is mainly down to the arrival of branded residences, including Bugatti Residences and Burj Binghatti Jacob & Co by Binghatti, as well as Vela Viento by Omniyat. It does appear that the net is spreading to include other locations in this sector – and not just the likes of Emirates Hills and Palm Jumeirah.

August figures show a slowdown in the general market – with volumes and values both markedly lower on the year by 37% and 44%, but the property agency points to buyers becoming more selective, rather than a broad loss of confidence. It also noted that active purchasers are focussing on new, branded and landmark developments, with the top end of the market favouring primary property – indicated by a 12.0% hike in off-plan sales – in contrast to a 67% decline in prime resale deals.

The consultancy said the divergence suggests high-net-worth buyers are increasingly choosing projects and developers rather than purchasing from the available resale stock. August figures see transactions and values rising by 15% and 9% on the month – and an impressive 80% and 204% on the year. This follows continued strong interest in Dubai’s luxury residential market. Recent market data has shown wealthy buyers increasingly prioritising privacy, exclusivity, waterfront living, architectural quality and branded residences when choosing homes.

For the secondary market, there were monthly decreases in both volumes, (14%), and 10%, (values); based on a year earlier, both volumes and values were roughly 60% down. A probable sign is that buyers are becoming reluctant to pay a premium for a finished product and would rather wait – and probably rent – for completion.

Springfield Properties noted that in August, there were 10.82k transactions, valued at US$ 6.33 billion, with off-plan sales accounting for 70.8%, (7.65k deals) of the volume. The secondary market posted 3.17k transactions, valued at US$ 2.58 billion, equating to 40.8% of the total August value. It is estimated that 83.8% of all transactions were seen in the homes, below US$ 817k, (AED 3.0 million), sector, A further split sees units under US$ 272k, (AED 1 million), accounted for 39.6% of the total and those in the US$ 272k – US$ 817k sector, 44.2%. Dubai South posted the highest residential transaction activity, (1.99k transactions at an average US$ 470 per sq ft), followed by Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Jebel Ali and Azizi Milan. Residential rentals generated US$ 1.17 billion, across 46.73k transactions.

In the commercial sector, three asset classes – buildings, offices and land – accounted for 77.8% of the total transactions with percentages of 30.2%, 24.5% and 23.1%.

Morgan’s International Realty’s Dubai Branded Residences Report H1 2026 posted that some 5.18k new branded residences were built in H1 8.7% higher – and this despite the sector entering a more competitive and selective phase; these new additions pushed the total portfolio of branded residences to 64.74k across some one hundred and seventy-five developments; 66.1 %, (equating to 42.83k), of the total are still under construction with 33.9%, (21.91k units) are in ready development. However, there was a dip in H1 2026 branded residence transactions of 4.65k, (down 21%), valued at US$ 6.05 billion, (47% lower). Despite the continued expansion in supply, transaction activity moderated from the exceptionally strong levels seen a year earlier. The three main drivers were a shift in the composition of deals towards smaller units, lower price points and a greater share of non-prime inventory.  Mercedes-Benz Places – Binghatti City alone recorded 1.22k transactions, representing roughly 26% of total branded residence sales and 32% of under-construction volume.

Off-plan properties accounted for 82% of transaction volumes and 78% of sales, with under-construction residences recording 3.79k transactions. In H1, branded residences commanded an average price of US$ 997 per sq ft – an impressive 55.5% premium on  comparable non-branded properties.

In H1, five properties sold for more than AED 200 million, (US$ 54 million):

• Aman Residences Dubai                                          US$ 115 million
• Aman Residences Dubai                                          US$ 97 million
• Jumeirah Asora Bay Ocean Mansions              US$ 95 million                                         
• Alba Residences Dubai                                            US$ 62 million
• Bugatti Residences                                                   US$ 54 million

The report said such deals, while not representative of the wider market, pointed to continued demand for scarce, ultra-luxury branded stock.

When it comes to locations, that have the highest concentration of branded developments, the leading three were:

• Downtown Dubai                                                                         twenty-three 
• Business Bay                                                                                twenty-one            
• Palm Jumeirah                                                                              eighteen

on transaction volume and value, the leading three were:

• Meydan                                      1.38k deals                               US$ 826 million
• Downtown Dubai                   0.41k deals                               US$ 929 million
• Dubai Creek Harbour           0.36k deals                               US$ 284 million

Dubai Holding has signed a US$ 1.36 billion contract, with China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East, to build  the Group’s new headquarters and Jumeirah Residences Emirates Towers, comprising seven hundred and fifty-four branded homes across two towers in the same location The contract is the single largest building contract for the Group. The building, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, will be a circular form, with the office organised around a central open-air atrium and landscaped courtyard and expansive terraces. Opening is scheduled for 2029. Its chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed commented that “we continue to build from a position of strength, committing capital to assets that support economic growth and create value for our people, communities and future generations. For more than two decades, Dubai Holding has been an important contributor to the emirate’s transformation, enabling economic activity equivalent to 30% of Dubai’s GDP”.

According to the founder of Emaar Properties, Mohamed Alabbar, he sees the local property market being more balanced next year, as more inventory enters. He also noted that some developers are beginning to offer discounts, (in some cases in the region of 20% – 50%), but not for Emaar, although he did predict a 5% -10% adjustment in prices on account of the “extraordinary situation”. The comments underline Emaar’s focus on maintaining pricing discipline and financial strength rather than using discounts to stimulate sales. He also stressed that housing affordability remains important to Dubai’s long-term growth, saying property prices should remain at an appropriate level, whether people are renting or buying.

The billionaire developer also admitted that real estate sales volumes were down, along with the hotel and tourism stories, whilst noting that “but then again, we had years of crazy profit, crazy margins. We can wait a little bit. (You have) been saving under the pillow for a rainy day. That’s absolutely fine”.

The UAE real estate market has officially transitioned into a highly selective, rebalancing phase, following years of explosive post-pandemic growth. While transaction volumes and macro fundamentals remain robust, the industry is adjusting to localised price corrections, rising supply, and a shift toward an end-user market. He mentioned that 55.5% of the ninety thousand homes under production are in the UAE, with the balance being built in eighteen other countries; he confirmed that UAE production has continued despite the disruption.

He has always been a supporter of progressive management techniques and AI is no exception. Speaking at this week’s AIM in Dubai, he noted that the developer utilises AI to speed up construction, automate back-office work, and run smart-living features across its mega-developments. When it comes to project design and construction, he noted that it helps Emaar to complete tasks, that once took months, in just a few hours.

More than fourteen thousand private sector companies in Dubai will receive specialised training on Agentic AI. It will give attendees, at its newly created integrated e-learning platform, Dubai Chambers Academy, the tools to apply the technology across operations, productivity and decision-making. This is just one part of a wider government initiative to move the private sector towards Agentic AI, under the directives of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai. The main aims of the programme are to give companies a foundation in Agentic AI, help them identify where the technology can be applied within their operations, and build the capabilities needed for its growing role in business. Dubai Chambers has also formed an Executive Committee for Agentic AI to accelerate adoption across the private sector.

Wizz Air announced in an Instagram post that “Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah and Amman are coming back with twelve routes and forty-nine weekly flights. Book them now!’ The Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier has yet to release further details, including actual flight schedules whether they will be operated by its European airlines or through a new locally based operation. However, it is rumoured that flights from Dubai will commence on 25 October, (and Abu Dhabi from 29 October).

After a twenty-year partnership, starting in 2006, Salik has renewed its tolling technology five-year contract, for Dubai’s road toll system, with US company TransCore. No major changes to previous contracts are envisaged, with annual operating expenses expected to remain at between 5.0% and 5.5% of total annual revenue, along with the continued development of systems and technology supporting tolling operations, including the potential use of AI and other digital solutions; it will also support its expansion into other mobility payment services, including parking.

This weekend, a UAE delegation, led by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, will attend the eighteenth BRICS summit in India. The UAE, which became a full member in 2024, aims to expand its economic and trade partnerships at the upcoming eighteenth BRICS summit. BRICS countries account for around 31% of the UAE’s total non-oil foreign trade, 34% of imports, 23% of non-oil exports and 28% of re-exports. The country’s membership is gaining increasing significance given the economic weight of BRICS, whose member countries account for around 49.5% of the world’s population, nearly 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade. The UAE’s entry into BRICS has benefitted both parties, with 2025 non-oil foreign trade between them exceeding US$ 312 billion – a 28.5% growth on the year. The UAE’s membership supports the development of balanced economic relations and promotes sustainable growth, alongside broadening its participation in the group’s economic and financial initiatives.

A meeting between Gabon’s President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and a UAE delegation, led by its Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, has taken place in Libreville. Discussions covered technology and infrastructure, as well as focussing on strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries. The delegation also met officials responsible for transport, commerce, energy, finance, oil and gas. Non-oil trade between the UAE and Gabon reached US$ 321 million in 2025 – more than double the value recorded in 2021 – with products including perfumes and consumer goods, petroleum distillates and industrial equipment.  H1 bilateral trade neared US$ 142 million. Last February, the two parties had signed a CEPA, with several objectives including reducing tariffs, removing trade barriers and increasing investment flows in agriculture, logistics, mining and renewable energy. The UAE’s CEPA programme has concluded thirty-eight agreements since its September 2021 launch, with eighteen now in force. The programme supports the country’s target of increasing non-oil foreign trade to US$ 1.1 trillion by 2031.

The UAE is also accelerating trade and investment engagement with Senegal, as the Minister of Foreign Trade met President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye. High-level meetings in Dakar focussed on strengthening trade and investment relations and exploring cooperation in priority sectors including mining, renewable energy, infrastructure, food security and logistics. Business-to-business meetings were held between ministers, officials and business leaders from the UAE and Senegal to review trade and investment opportunities and private-sector partnerships. The visit coincides with 2025 bilateral trade posting a 24.5% hike to US$ 1.3 billion, and H1 figures of US$ 751 million, 24.5% higher on the year. To date, there is no CEPA between the two nations.

Last year, UAE-Africa non-oil trade surged 41.6%, on the year, having reached US$ 158 billion, while Africa’s share of the UAE’s total non-oil trade rose to 15.5% from 10.8% in 2019. UAE investments across Africa were over US$ 110 billion in the six years to 2024.

On 07 September, Dubai Airport officially launched a new ‘Click and Travel’ service that allows officers to process passengers using handheld devices. The new initiative, taking no more than fifteen seconds, allows passengers, using biometric technology, facial recognition, electronic passport reading, automated checks and secure connectivity to verify traveller information quickly and accurately.

Driven by a combination of domestic, (a widening trade deficit), and external, (expanding energy import prices), pressures, the Philippine peso has hit an all-time low against the UAE dirham. Over the past twelve months, it has fallen from 0.018 to 0.016 to the greenback that has presented Filipino expats the chance to remit more pesos now than they did a year ago. It is estimated that nearly one million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) work in the UAE, sending billions of dirhams home each year. In 2025, money sent home from the UAE totalled US$ 51.44 billion – 27.8% higher on the year – and helped to make the UAE one of the top remittance countries for the Philippines, along with the US and Saudi Arabia.

Tokinvest, a Dubai-based virtual asset platform regulated by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, is to issue the fractional interests as an asset-referenced virtual asset, with the tokens deployed on BNB Chain. The Arva happens to be the world’s largest silver bar, weighing one thousand, nine hundred and seventy-one kg, with 99.9% pure silver, has become the first tokenised commodity asset launched under the DMCC-VARA tokenisation framework. Regulated secondary-market trading is scheduled to open following the silver bar’s initial issuance, subject to applicable regulatory and platform requirements.

The latest GCC Corporate Earnings Report by Kamco Invest shows that listed companies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai reported combined Q2 net profits of US$ 21.6 billion – up 28.6% on the year. Abu Dhabi-listed firms accounted for the bulk of the growth, with net profits climbing 41.8% to $14.7 billion, with Dubai-listed companies adding US$ 6.9 billion in net profits – up 4.9%. The H1 returns show combined profits up 21.6% to US$ 38.9 billion, with Abu Dhabi up 29.8% to US$ 25.2 billion and Dubai companies’ profits, by 8.5%, to US$ 13.7 billion.

A meeting of the UAE Council for Entrepreneurship, chaired by Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, took place last week at which it was revealed that the number of SMEs in the country had surged by 140% since 2020 and 900% since the turn of the century. The upward trend comes at a time when the UAE is pushing ahead with a national strategy to strengthen entrepreneurship and has been ranked first globally – for the fifth consecutive year – in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2025/2026 report, and second worldwide for both entrepreneurial finance and ease of access to entrepreneurial finance. The meeting examined national initiatives and targets aimed at improving the competitiveness and long-term sustainability of the country’s entrepreneurship and SME ecosystem. The Minister commented that the UAE had placed entrepreneurship and SMEs at the centre of its economic development plans, viewing them as key drivers of economic growth, diversification and a knowledge-based economy built around innovation and sustainability. SMEs account for about 95% of all companies operating in the country and more than 85% of private-sector jobs, with the Council providing a national platform for coordinating efforts and developing initiatives.

In Dubai, banks and real estate together accounted for 75.9% of total Q2 profits. The banking sector’s net profits rose 5.1%, to US$ 3.3 billion, supported by Mashreq Bank and Emirates NBD, whilst real estate profits surged 20.1% to US$ 1.9 billion, led by Emaar Properties, which posted US$ 1 billion in quarterly net profit on the back of US$ 7.2 billion in property sales and a revenue backlog of US$ 44.9 billion, and Emaar Development. Nine of Dubai’s thirteen listed sectors posted year-on-year profit gains during Q2, while four recorded declines, including utilities and telecom. Total Q2 net profits reported by companies listed on GCC exchanges reached US$ 74.8 billion – 31.3% higher on the year and 10.0% on the quarter.

Majid Al Futtaim posted a record H1 US$ 681 million EBITDA, as it stepped up investment across a development pipeline, worth more than US$ 27.25 billion; development revenue was 38.0% higher on the year, with US$ 763 million worth of construction contracts awarded in H1. With revenue nudging 1.0% higher, to US$ 4.71 billion, net operating profit after tax came in 25.0% higher at US$ 490 million, attributable to stronger earnings growth from higher-margin development, shopping malls, cinemas and digital businesses. Among its upcoming projects is a US$ 16.89 billion agreement with Dubai South, to develop a twenty-two million sq ft mixed-use community; construction is also progressing at Ghaf Woods and the Mall of the Emirates redevelopment.

The DFM opened the week on Monday 07 September on 5,885 points, and having shed eleven points (0.1%) the previous week, gained fifty-six points, (0.9%), to close the week, 11 September, on 5,941 points. Emaar Properties, flat the previous week, shed US$ 0.03 to close on US$ 2.97 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.74, US$ 8.26, US$ 1.99 and US$ 0.38 and closed on 11 September at US$ 0.76, US$ 8.60, US$ 2.00 and US$ 0.38. On 11 September, trading was at two hundred and forty-four million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and fifty-three million dollars, compared to five hundred and thirty-one million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and thirty-five million dollars on 04 September. 

By 4pm GMT 11 September 2026, Brent, US$ 5.92 (5.3%) higher the previous week, gained US$ 9.20 (9.7%), to close the week on US$ 104.50. Gold, US$ 186 (4.0%) lower the previous week, shed US$ 82 (1.8%), to end the week’s trading at US$ 4,358 on 11 September. Silver was trading at US$ 64.50 on 07 September – and closed today, 11 September, US$ 1.68 (2.5%) lower on the week at US$ 66.18.

Since its April exit from Opec and Opec+, the country’s oil production has increased by 42.2% from 3.41 mbpd., (the quota stipulated by the cartel), to its current level of 4.85 mbpd, with a S&P Global Ratings’ forecast of 5.0 mbpd by 2029.This is expected to strengthen UAE’s real GDP growth to an average of 6.2% in 2027-2029 from a 2.4% estimate in 2026. It would also support fiscal and current account surpluses, which S&P expects to average 3.5% of GDP and 13.0% of GDP, respectively, during 2027-2029. The agency rates UAE at AA/A-1+, with strong financial buffers which has helped provide a safety cushion to external shocks. It also has strong net assets at an estimated 147% of GDP and general government debt of a very low 26% of GDP. S&P estimates the UAE’s consolidated fiscal balance to average a surplus of 2.3% over the next three years. The credits ratings agency expects energy flows to gradually recover but it will take more time for energy flows to rise to pre-war levels due to operational bottlenecks, damaged infrastructure, shipping insurance constraints, and potential lingering risk aversion. It did note that the UAE’s business-friendly government policies, leading infrastructure, low tax regime, and proactive policy stance will continue to support economic stability.

There was no surprise to see Jaguar Land Rover’s announcement that, in a bid to cut ever increasing costs, it would shed some 10% of its workforce, equating to four thousand jobs, over the next two years; of its forty thousand payroll, thirty thousand are employed in the UK. The luxury car maker is targeting savings of US$ 2.3 billion, whilst lowering its annual break-even point to three hundred thousand vehicles. Owned by India’s Tata Motors, the UK-based manufacturer also announced five new products, over the next twelve months, and that the US$ 2.03 billion investment, (over the next five years), would be invested in, inter alia, electrification, digital technologies, advanced manufacturing and enhanced customer experiences. UK’s business minister, Jonathan Reynolds, is expected to meet with its chief executive PB Balaji this week to discuss the planned job cuts. Last September, a cyberattack resulted in all manufacturing being shut down for several weeks, leading to a 27% fall in overall production, with the total financial damage cost of the cyber-attack, and the subsequent loss of manufacturing, estimated to be US$ 2.57 billion.

This week, The Employment Appeal Tribunal overturned a key part of a 2024 landmark ruling that Next was wrong to pay its warehouse staff more than shop floor workers for jobs of equal value. This was not good news for some three thousand, five hundred current and former employees – and mainly female – who were hoping for a share in the US$ 40.68 million expected back payout. The tribunal accepted that the retailer was justified in paying higher rates because of recruitment and retention pressures for warehouse workers – a decision not shared by a sector of Next employees, who will probably appeal the decision. Both the original Employment Tribunal and the Appeal Tribunal found there was no direct sex discrimination in Next’s pay rates. Shop floor staff are predominantly women, while warehouse workers are predominantly male.

In 2022, Primark made its first foray into e-commerce in the UK, when it launched a click-and-collect service, (which meant shoppers still had to travel to pick up their purchases), but this week announced that it would be launching a home delivery service. No start date details have been released but the budget retailer has bought a warehouse in Sheffield to enable it to ship products to homes. It noted that there was “opportunity for profitable growth” through home deliveries, which could help boost trade after Primark reported subdued sales, following the recent hot weather. Reports seem to indicate that it had been facing stiff competition from its ultra-fast-fashion peers, including Shein. Associated British Foods (ABF), which owns Primark, posted that the fashion chain would “continue to grow click and collect and… will in the future offer home delivery in Great Britain”. The Group’s forecast is for 1% growth in Q4, but that like-for-like sales are expected to be “broadly flat” in the UK, with 3% declines across its global operations.

Last week, news came that Ikea was cutting prices, of up to 28%, on specified items, across hundreds of products to arrest a declining revenue steam. This week, M&S announced that it would be reducing more than fifty organic products and will start price-matching competitors such as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s in a bid to attract returning customers. It is estimated that prices could fall by as much as US$ 2.16 in some cases. In the eyes of its MD for food, Alex Freudmann, M&S wanted to give people “more reasons to shop with us more often”.

Twenty-two-year-old Singaporean, Malone Lam, pleaded guilty this week for organising one of the biggest ever cryptocurrency thefts, stealing US$ 245 million of bitcoin and laundering the proceeds. Money was spent by Lam and his associates in nightclubs – sometimes up to five hundred thousand dollars and even three million, eight hundred thousand dollars for a selection of thirty expensive cars. His crime ring was dismantled when FBI agents arrested him and a co-conspirator in September 2024. He faces up to twenty years behind bars. In April this year, one of Lam’s co-conspirators, Evan Tangeman, was sentenced to seventy months for laundering the proceeds of the scheme.

August witnessed global food prices moving higher, led by sugar jumping 11.9% on the month, with wheat, maize, dairy, meat and vegetable oil prices also heading north; the main drivers behind these price rises continue to be disruptions to key trade routes, geopolitical tensions and the extreme global weather conditions. The August FAO Food Price Index averaged 133.3 points, 1.9% higher on the month and 2.5% on the year; its all-time monthly record high of 160.2 points occurred in March 2022, immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The August price increases include:

• cereal                                                            2.2%                         highest level since May 2024.            2026 production forecast 2% lower at 2.98 Gt
• wheat                                                            2.6%                         and 15% on the year                             2026 production forecast 3.8% lower at 811 Mt
• maize                                                            2.5%                                                                2026 production forecast 1.309 Gt
• rice                                                                0.5%                                                                             2026 production forecast 1.9% lower at 553 Mt
• cereal                                                            2.2%                         peak level since May 2024.                2026 production forecast 1.9 lower at 510 Mt
• FAO Dairy Price Index                           2.3%                         21.7% lower on the year and its first increase in four months.
• milk powder and cheese                                                            moved higher, with tightening milk supplies and extreme European weather
• meat                                                              1.0%                         driven by higher poultry, pig and ovine meat quotations.
• vegetable oil                                              0.6%                         highest level since June 2022. Higher palm and soy oil prices

Late last week, the yen moved higher against the greenback, following new talks of intervention by the Japanese government – it fell 3.15 yen to 155.74 yen. With the markets still nervous following renewed airstrikes by Iran on US targets, the yen jumped by more than 2% in Europe, after further speculation that the government would intervene again to prop up the yen. The BoJ and the US Treasury had intervened in July to boost the yen, but with little success. With markets favouring another 0.25% hike in US interest rates this month, there is pressure for the same action by the Japanese central bank.

Tokyo tourist hotspot Shinjuku will impose a ban on more than half of its holiday rentals including homes on Airbnb, after a surge in complaints, (40% higher than a year earlier), about visitors. Japanese residents in this popular tourist neighbourhood, which hosts some four thousand, two hundred, equating to 10% of the country’s forty-two thousand short-term rentals. An official explained that as “as the number of private lodging businesses has risen, complaints and troubles around them have increased”, and that the suburb was “planning to revise the current ordinance… to ban private lodging” in residential zones and areas near schools. It seems that overtourism has emerged as a major issue in Japan. In July, the Japan Tourism Agency in July had given municipalities the right to regulate short-term lodgings if “a tranquil living and educational environment” is under threat or if they “hinder the maintenance of a permanent population and local community”.

Driven by robust exports, amid the global AI boom, South Korea posted a July current account surplus of US$ 42.0 billion – 15.4% lower on the month but 353% higher on last year’s figure of US$ 11.9 billion; it was the thirty-ninth consecutive month that a surplus has been achieved. This was the second largest monthly figure after June’s US$ 49.73 billion record surplus – and the highest ever for a July month. Its goods account registered a US$ 40.43 billion surplus, as exports skyrocketed by 65.3%, on the year, to US$ 100.4 billion. Because of a rise in equity income, the primary income account posted a US$ 4.35 billion surplus. South Korea has reported a current account surplus every month since May 2023, and, in 2025, it posted its largest annual surplus on record at US$ 123.05 billion, exceeding the previous high of US$ 105.1 billion set in 2015.

Russia’s H1 non-resource non-energy industrial exports rose to US$ 58.8 billion, with Anton Alikhanov, the Industry and Trade Minister, commenting that “according to the plan, this year we must reach a total non-resource non-energy export volume of US$ 155.25 billion, with industrial sectors accounting for US$ 116.95 billion of that amount. Alikhanov named chemical products, particularly mineral and chemical fertilisers, metallurgy and precious metals, light industry, pharmaceuticals, perfumes, and cosmetics, among the key sectors driving the growth in manufactured goods exports. Russia increased its non-resource non-energy exports by 11% last year, establishing itself as a reliable supplier of high-tech products.

China’s latest move to rejuvenate its slowing economy and to help to bolster its financial system by pumping tens of billions of dollars into eight state-owned banks and insurance companies; they include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, and five major insurance companies. The cash injection is in the region of US$ 54.0 billion, with the finance ministry noting that the move “will help further enhance their sound operating capabilities, risk resistance capabilities, and ability to serve the real economy”. The main aim of this move seems to be to reshape the economy in the face of a number of impacting factors including a slowdown in the global economy, Trump Tariffs, a shrinking workforce and a years-long property market slump. Official GDP figures show China’s Q2 economy grew by 4.3%, below Beijing’s annual target, and after a 5.0% rise in the previous quarter. Earlier in the year, Beijing had cut its 2026 growth projection to between 4.5% and 5.0% – its lowest economic expansion goal since 1991.

Steady growth continued for China’s trade in services, in the first seven months of the year, as travel and transport services led the field, accounting for more than 50% of the overall growth in exports, to US$ 655.8 billion – 8.3% higher on the year. Travel and transport services emerged as the two main drivers of export growth. Travel service exports surged 27.7%, while transport service exports rose 27.1%. The two categories contributed 22.1% and 29.9%, respectively, to the overall growth in services exports. With China’s service exports rising 17.1% to US$ 263.71 billion and imports, up 3.2% at US$ 397.85 billion, the country’s services trade deficit narrowed by US$ 26.27 billion, year-on-year, to US$ 134.14 billion. Knowledge-intensive services also remained a key component of China’s services trade. Trade in knowledge-intensive services, including telecommunications, information technology, finance, intellectual property and other business services, increased 6.6% to US$ 292.04 billion, accounting for 44.1 % of the country’s total services trade.

Last Thursday, 03 September, the EU suspended imports of animal goods from Brazil, because of their new rules pertaining to the control and use of antimicrobial substances in livestock production including beef, poultry, eggs and honey. Brazil was warned in May that the European bloc would penalise and remove it from its list of countries because it had failed to provide sufficient guarantees that its livestock production met EU standards against antibiotic growth promoters and other restricted drugs. The Brazilian government said on Thursday it could take reciprocal measures against the EU, in case negotiations to reverse the bloc’s ban on animal products from the South American nation do not lead to “a satisfactory outcome”, adding that it would consider reciprocal measures if a satisfactory solution was not reached. 

As from yesterday, Sapporo lager will also be brewed in the US two days after the Trump  50% tariff on Canadian produced beer took effect. As the US is one of Sapporo’s most important overseas markets, any shift south of the border will directly affect operations at its Canadian subsidiary, Sleeman Breweries. Furthermore, other Canadian products banned by the White House include:

• dairy products like whey
• cane molasses
• non-alcoholic beer
• a long list of wine, rum and vodka products
• beer made from malt
• motorbikes, including mopeds

Sapporo is the country’s best-selling Asian beer brand. It seems obvious that other international manufacturers, operating out of Canada, may take similar action. It is estimated that some 66.7% of Canadian exports head to the US, whilst Canada is the second-largest trading partner of the US, after Mexico. In August, the US imposed 50% on about twenty billion dollars of goods from Canada, which was almost immediately reciprocated by the Carney administration. Trump has constantly noted that Canada is “discriminating” against US businesses by restricting American goods, while not doing the same to the same products from other countries. Earlier in the week, the US warned that Bombardier would not  be able to sell its aircraft in the country, unless it moves manufacturing south.

Reports indicate that Chris Rokos, listed as the third top taxpayer in the UK, (having paid US$ 446 million in 2025, and earlier in the year, said he would donate US$ 257 million to Cambridge University), has decided to leave the UK and move to Greece. The hedge-fund billionaire and one of the UK’s richest taxpayers, plans to open an office in Greece, which has generous tax rules for wealthy foreigners, earning overseas income. So much for a government spokesman commenting that “the Chancellor has made wealth creation one of his top priorities”, and that the UK has “a competitive and stable tax system, deep capital markets, world-class universities and a highly skilled workforce”. It is estimated that the US$ 446 million “lost tax” would be enough to fund four thousand, five hundred teachers.

A pleasant surprise for the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, was that the country’s economy had grown by 0.4% in July, partly on the back of AI investment, with “continuing recent trends, research and development and rental and leasing also helped drive growth, while wholesaling saw a notable fall”. July’s figure follows growth of 0.3% in June and zero growth in May.The negative impacts, arising from the ME crisis, have been offset by AI investment, led by data centre spending and increased AI use among firms, which have propped up growth since the spring. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said output accelerated – on the back of 0.3% growth the previous month – as the services sector was also boosted by bars and food sales which benefited from good weather during the World Cup. Growth in July was helped by a strong performance from the services sector, and particularly computer programming. Although the latest figures were most welcome and show that the UK economy was proving resilient, it is almost certain that growth will slow in the months ahead, as higher energy prices affect households, inflation will continue to rise, mortgage rates will remain elevated and public borrowing costs continue to move higher. It is hard to see how the government can square the circle of taking measures to support growth, whilst maintaining the target rate for Defence spending and not raising taxes.  Next month, John Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will deliver his first budget on 28 October, with the British public desperately Waiting On A Miracle!