Abu Dhabi consumer prices rise 1.6% as food rises

Average consumer prices in Abu Dhabi increased 1.6 per cent for the year in August, latest data released by the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) showed yesterday. "The most significant individual increase came from higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages [8.3 per cent]," SCAD said, adding at the same time, prices of clothing and footwear decreased by 13.1 per cent. Average consumer prices increased 0.1 per cent in August compared with July with the most significant individual increase coming from miscellaneous goods and services (at one per cent), the SCAD data showed. SCAD uses base year 2007 to calculate the Consumer Price Index (CPI). SCAD said the average rise in consumer prices for the first eight months of 2011 was 2.4 per cent, compared with the same period of 2010. From August 2010 to August 2011, average consumer prices rose 1.6 per cent. "August's inflation can be attributed to high consumer demand during Ramadan, which is understandable. In general, there are some inflationary pressures in the economy and the UAE government has taken measures to address those pressures to the extent possible," Mohammad Amerah, an Abu Dhabi-based economist told Gulf News. Household prices "The year-on-year rise of 2.4 per cent in consumer prices for the first eight months of 2011 contributed to a rise in consumer prices for national households by 2.4 per cent, and by two per cent for non-national households and four per cent for collective households," said SCAD. SCAD said the food and non-alcoholic beverages group accounted for 57.6 per cent of the rise in the index, due to increases in the prices of most of the subgroups included in this group. The highest increase was in prices of the meat subgroup which rose by 14.1 per cent followed by coffee, tea and cocoa (13.4 per cent), fruits (12.0 per cent), mineral waters, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices (9.0 per cent), and vegetables (7.6 per cent). The next highest contributor to the year-on-year increase in the CPI over the first eight months of 2011 was the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group which accounted for 35.7 per cent of the increase in the CPI while prices for this group increased by 2.2 per cent. The transport group contributed 30.4 per cent to the year-on-year rise in consumer prices for the periods compared and increased by 7.8 per cent. The main group that slowed the rise in consumer prices during the first eight months of 2011 compared with the same period of 2010 was clothing and footwear which contributed 62.1 per cent.