OREANDA-NEWS Dubai's real estate market index plunged 20 percent amid the conflict in the Middle East. This is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the auction data.

The DFM Real Estate Index on Monday, March 9, fell to 13,353.18 points (minus 4.76 percent). The index has been declining for the fifth day in a row. During this time, it dropped from almost 16,700 points, resulting in a drop of almost 20 percent.

A number of experts suggest that the continuation of Iran's attacks on the UAE as a close ally of the United States and the general continuation of the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East may lead to the loss of Dubai's important status as a safe financial haven, a kind of "new Switzerland." Iran's retaliatory strikes have already affected key sectors of Dubai, as well as its "psychological foundations."

"It's hard to overestimate the danger to Dubai's economic model," said Jim Crane, a researcher at Rice University's Baker Institute.

Stefan Paul, the head of the Kuhne+Nagel logistics giant, said that there are about 10 days left of fresh food in Dubai, which depends on external supplies. According to him, it is possible to deliver products to Dubai by land from Saudi Arabia, but the available capacities are unlikely to be enough to replace the cargo of at least one container ship carrying up to 20 thousand containers at a time.