Abu Dhabi: Consumer prices in Abu Dhabi increased 2.4 per cent on the year in June, latest figures released yesterday by Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (Scad) showed.
"Average consumer prices increased by 0.5 per cent in June 2011 compared with May 2011," Scad said in a report.
"The inflation in Abu Dhabi has been rising steadily. It seems there are now inflationary pressures in the UAE economy. The figures reveal that inflation is mostly imported mainly due to the declining dollar," Mohammad Amerah, an Abu Dhabi-based economist, told Gulf News.
Right direction
"The Ministry of Economy is trying to reduce inflationary pressures by persuading retailers to reduce prices of their products, and it seems the Ministry has succeeded in reducing the prices of a good number of consumer goods. This a very good step in the right direction," Amerah added.
The consumer price index (CPI) for Abu Dhabi rose to 121.3 points in June, up from 118.5 points in June 2010.
"The communications group posted the largest increase during this period (12.4 per cent), followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 7.9 per cent) and transport (up 6.9 per cent), while the prices of clothing and footwear group decreased by 15.3 per cent," SCAD said.
In June, compared to May, the food and non-alcoholic beverages group advanced 1.6 per cent.
"The largest rise in prices within the food and non-alcoholic beverages group during this period was recorded by the fish and seafood subgroup, which advanced by 17.8 per cent," said SCAD.
The CPI for May was at 121.3 points.
