(MENAFN) Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) growth in the oil sector with increasing output and exports, according to Emirates NBD, Gulf News reported.

According to economists, the strong growth of the oil sector will be sufficient to compensate for the slower pace of the non- hydrocarbon sector in the GCC, and the UAE and Saudi in particular.

'Higher oil production should help to offset slower growth in the non-oil sectors, which is evident in the Purchasing Managers' Indices for the two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE,' the Head of Mena Research at Emirates NBD said.