Abu Dhabi: Average consumer prices in Abu Dhabi went up 2.9 per cent in the first eight months of 2014 compared with the same period last year, according to the latest report by the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (Scad).
The report, which was published on Sunday, showed an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 123.8 points in the first eight months of 2013 to 127.4 points during the same period this year.
It also showed an increase of 3.5 per cent in the CPI in August 2014 compared to the same month last year, along with an increase of 0.5 per cent in August over July.
Such increase during the first eight months of this year pushed up consumer prices for citizen households by 3.1 per cent, by 2.8 per cent for non-citizen households, and by 2.2 per cent for share households.
Looking into various expenditure groups, ‘housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’ accounted for the largest rise in the index during the first eight months of the year, contributing 39.8 per cent to the change. The contribution resulted from an increase of 3.1 per cent in the prices of the group.
The second highest contributor was ‘furnishings and household equipment’, which accounted for 16.2 per cent of the overall increase in CPI.
Meanwhile, food and beverages accounted for 14.3 per cent, and showed an increase of 2.3 per cent in prices compared to 2013, as restaurants and hotels rose by 5.1 per cent.
The rise of 2.9 per cent in prices resulted in an increase of 2.1 per cent for households of the bottom welfare quintile, 2.9 per cent for those of the middle quintile, and 3 per cent for households of the top welfare quintile.
Such growth was due to the rise of consumer prices in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region. According to the report, the increase in the CPI of the Abu Dhabi region contributed 69 per cent of the total increase, while Al Ain accounted for 24 per cent, and the Western Region 7 per cent of the total increase during the period.
