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Dubai / WAM
Statistics Center – Abu Dhabi released on Saturday a new issue of its monthly report on the consumer price index (CPI) and the inflation rate in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for February 2016, replacing, with 2014 as the base year. This CPI is used in measuring inflation and represents an important input in conomic and monetary planning.
As the report finds, the inflation rate in consumer prices for the first two months of 2016 was 3.3 percent, compared with the same period of 2015, as shown by the increase in the CPI to 105.6 points during the first two months of 2016, up from 102.2 points for the same period of 2015.
The report shows weight or relative importance and change for each of the twelve main major expenditure groups, which are grouped as per the Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose (COICOP), indicating an overall y-o-y change of 3.3 percent over the first two months of 2016.
The ‘Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ group accounted for the largest rise in the index during for first two months of 2016 compared with the same period of 2015, contributing 79.5 percentage points as a result of an increase of 8.2 percent in the prices of this group.
The ‘Food and beverages’ group contributed 5.0 percentage points to the overall increase in the CPI for first two months of 2016 compared with the same period of 2015. The prices of this group increased by 1.4 percent over the same period.
The ‘Restaurants and hotels’ group rose by 5.4 percent, contributing 6.1 percentage points to the overall y-o-y increase in the CPI for first two months of 2016.
As analysis reveals, consumer prices advanced by 3.4 percent in February 2016 compared with February 2015 as shown by the increase in the CPI from 102.0 points in February 2015 to 105.5 points in February 2016. This increase reflects the net outcome of the rises and falls in the price of the goods and services of the consumer basket during the aforesaid period. Which saw the ‘Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ record the largest rise (8.2%), followed by the ‘Restaurants and hotels’ group (up 6.0%), ’Miscellaneous goods and services ‘ (up 3.3 percent) and ‘Food and beverages’ (up 1.7 %).
As the report indicates, consumer prices nudged down 0.2 percent in February 2016 compared with January 2016. This fall reflects the net outcome of the rises and falls in the price of the goods and services of the consumer basket and during the aforesaid period.