The IMF cut UAE’s economic growth forecast for 2016 to 2.6% from 3.1%. The cut was due to a worsening of the chines economy and looming regional public spending cuts. IMF’s regional director, Masood Ahmed, said that they are seeing that the UAE government has begun to hold back on public spending and this would have a dampening effect on the rest of the economy. He further said that the UAE is more diversified than most of the other oil-exporting countries and this has been a big plus in terms of being less impacted by the drop in oil prices. However he said that the drop in oil prices is coinciding with a slowdown in emerging markets, a drop in prices for other commodities and a drop in trade particularly among emerging market countries. (The National)