Housing and utility inflation falls in the UAE

Dubai: The UAE National Bureau of Statistics released April’s consumer prices data on Saturday.

Housing and utility costs, which account for over 39 per cent of consumer expenses, fell 0.1 per cent year-on-year and were unchanged month-on-month in April.

Food prices, which make up nearly 14 per cent of the basket, increased 2.5 per cent on an annual basis but dipped 0.2 per cent from the previous month, the data also showed.

Analysts polled by Reuters in April forecast average inflation in the UAE federation to accelerate to 1.6 per cent in 2013 from 0.7 per cent in 2012, which was the lowest level since 1990.