Inflation up 2.2% for first 9 months of 2011

The Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (Scad) stated in its report on Consumer Price Index (CPI) that the average rise in consumer prices for the first nine months of 2011 was 2.2 per cent, compared with the same period of 2010.

From September 2010 to September 2011 average consumer prices rose by 1.0 per cent, while from August 2011 to September 2011, average consumer prices rose by 0.4 per cent.

It added that the consumer prices for households of the bottom welfare quintile increased by 4.2 per cent during the first nine months of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010. The corresponding rise for other welfare levels was 1.5 per cent for households of the top quintile and 2.8 per cent for the middle quintile.

During the first nine months of 2011 consumer prices for national households increased by 2.2 per cent, 1.9 per cent for non-national households and 3.8 per cent for collective households.

The inflation rate for the third quarter of 2011 compared with the third quarter of 2010 was 1.6 per cent.

During the first nine months of 2011, average consumer prices rose by 2.2 per cent compared with the same period of 2010.

The food and non-alcoholic beverages group, accounted for 61.8 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 14.2 per cent followed by coffee, tea and cocoa (13.6 per cent), fruits (11.8 per cent), mineral waters, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices (8.8 per cent), and vegetables (7.7 per cent). 

The next highest contributor to the overall year-on-year increase in the CPI over the first nine months of 2011 was housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group which accounted for 35.0 per cent of the increase in the CPI while prices for this group increased by 2.0 per cent.

The transport group contributed 29.0 per cent to the year-on-year rise in consumer prices for the periods compared and increased by 6.9 per cent.

The communications group contributed 14.1 per cent of the CPI increase during the first nine months of 2011 and increased by 5.0 per cent compared with the same period in 2010. 

The main group that slowed down the rise in consumer prices during the first nine months of 2011 compared with the same period of 2010 was clothing and footwear which contributed -64.9 per cent.

Prices of this group decreased by 15.2 per cent as a result of a drop in the prices of the clothing and footwear subgroups by 15.2 per cent and 14.9 per cent, respectively.

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