Manama: Bahrain recorded the highest inflation rate among GCC countries while Oman showed the lowest. The figures for the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries were released by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf for the period ending in June, 2014.
Bahrain recorded an inflation rate of 3.10 per cent while in Oman it was just 1.21 per cent. Inflation rates for other GCC countries include Kuwait 2.87 per cent, Qatar 2.80 per cent, Saudi Arabia 2.70 per cent and the United Arab Emirates 2.21 per cent.
In the Sultanate of Oman, furniture, household goods and routine household maintenance increased by 7.36 per cent, while in Qatar and Bahrain, costs for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels went up by 7.40 per cent and 5.60 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, tobacco prices were up by 6.82 per cent and 6.70 per cent in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia respectively, while goods and services costs increased in the United Arab Emirates by 5.17 per cent.
On the other hand, the GCC-Stat figures reveal a reduction in costs in several categories including communication, transportation, health and the prices of food, beverage and tobacco.
There was an overall increase across GCC countries in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
