GCC consumer prices rise by 4.3 pc

MUSCAT: Over the 12 months to April 2018, price change for consumer goods and services (excluding housing) (1) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries rose by 4.3 per cent, according to figures released today by GCC-Stat, the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council of the Arab Countries of the Gulf. The biggest increases were for tobacco 55.3 per cent, transport 8.9 per cent, restaurant and hotels by 6.0 per cent, food 4.3 per cent, education 2.8 per cent, health 2.5 per cent, miscellaneous 2.0 per cent, communication 1.9 per cent, furnishings 1.7 per cent and recreation 1.6 per cent. On the other hand, clothing and footwear fell by -1.7 per cent.

In terms of contributions to the 4.3 per cent annual increase, transport contributed 1.5 percentage points, food 1.1 percentage points, tobacco and restaurant and hotels 0.5 percentage points each, furnishings, education and miscellaneous 0.2 percentage points each. In contrast, the clothing and footwear contributed by -0.1 percentage points. Over the 12 months to April 2018, the country contributions to overall GCC consumer price change were UAE 2.1 percentage points, Saudi Arabia 1.9 percentage points, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait contributed 0.1 percentage points each, and Oman 0.0 percentage points. GCC overall consumer price have increased slightly by 0.1 per cent in April 2018 compared with the previous month. The most significant price increased during April 2018 were in clothing and footwear by 0.5 per cent, recreation 0.4 per cent, food 0.3 per cent, tobacco 0.2 and education 0.1 per cent. In contrast transport and miscellaneous failed by -0.2 per cent each and restaurant and hotels by -0.1. — ONA