UAE records first deflation in 20 months

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UAE records first deflation in 20 months

DUBAI — Consumer prices in the UAE rose 0.4 per cent in October from the previous month on a hike in food and clothing costs, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.

By Issac John

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Published: Tue 22 Nov 2011, 11:27 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 5:17 AM

However, compared to the same month in 2010, prices declined by 0.05 per cent in October, the first drop in 20 months.

Restaurants and hotels recorded a price increase of 3.07 per cent in October, followed by textiles and clothing sector showing an escalation of 1.31 per cent. There has been only a slight increase in the cost of housing and medical care.

In October, Dubai’s annual inflation rate rose to a three-month high of 0.3 per cent as food prices climbed, data showed. Consumer price growth in Dubai, which accounts for 28 per cent of the UAE economy, has held below one per cent for most of the year as bank lending remains slow and the property sector weak in the wake of the emirate’s 2009 debt crisis. Inflation was zero in September.

On a month-on-month basis, price growth eased to 0.3 per cent in October after a 0.4 per cent increase in September, the data from the Dubai Statistics Centre showed. Consumer prices in Abu Dhabi also climbed 2.1 per cent during the first ten months as food prices soared, according to figures released by the agency.


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