Dubai: Dubai’s inflation rate rose 2.17 per cent in January compared to the same period in 2013, according to Dubai Statistics Centre (DSC) data on Tuesday. Consumer prices in Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, rose 2.1 per cent during the same period.
The increase in Dubai’s inflation is a result of a rise in the prices of education (3.99 per cent), housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (3.87 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.66 per cent), health (2 per cent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (1.65 per cent), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.98 per cent), transport (0.78 per cent), recreation and culture (0.56 per cent), miscellaneous goods and services (0.30 per cent) and restaurants and hotels (0.06 per cent).
Meanwhile, the inflation rate fell for the groups of clothing and footwear by 2.80 per cent and communication by 0.07 per cent.
Simon Williams, chief economist at HSBC for the Middle East, previously told Gulf News that he expects inflation in Dubai to go up “towards five per cent” by the year-end.
In terms of monthly performance, the inflation rate in Dubai rose 0.49 per cent in January compared to December 2013, DSC data showed.
This was driven by an increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (2.01 per cent), health (1.75 per cent), transport (0.33 per cent), communication (0.16 per cent).
Meanwhile, prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped by 2 per cent, clothing and footwear by 0.39 per cent, miscellaneous goods and services by 0.27 per cent, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance by 0.10 per cent, restaurants and hotels by 0.04 per cent and recreations and culture by 0.01 per cent.
Prices of education, alcoholic beverages and tobacco remained stable, according to DSC data.
Abu Dhabi
In Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, consumer prices rose 2.1 per cent in January compared to the same time in 2013, which is reflected by the rise in the consumer price index (CPI) from 123.5 points to 126.0, according to the latest data by Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi (SCAD).
The largest rise in prices were recorded for the food and non-alcoholic beverage group, which accounted for 30.7 per cent of consumer inflation year-on-year.
Vegetables increased by 19.6 per cent, fish and seafood by 18.7 per cent, “food products n.e.c” by 5.5 per cent, oils and fats by 3.8 per cent and milk, cheese and eggs by 2 per cent.
