Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Abu Dhabi: Average consumer prices in Abu Dhabi rose three per cent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2015, according to the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (Scad). In April alone, the consumer price index rose 2.4 per cent compared to April 2015, but registered a drop of 0.1 per cent compared to March 2016. The ‘housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’ category accounted for the largest increase in the index during the first four months of the year, with a 7.5 per cent jump in prices of this group. It contributed 82.6 percentage points of the overall inflation rate. Meanwhile, the food and beverages group saw a 4.8 per cent increase in prices over the same four months compared to the same period last year. The three per cent rise in consumer prices for the first four months of 2016 pushed up prices for Emirati households by 2.7 per cent, expat households by 3.2 per cent, and share households by 3.7 per cent. In its latest report that was issued on Tuesday, Scad said that 77 per cent of the overall rise in consumer prices came from Abu Dhabi region, while Al Ain and the Western Region accounted for 19.6 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively of the increase. Staff Report Gulf News 2016. All rights reserved.
