Oman recorded the lowest inflation rate at 0.07 per cent in August among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The highest inflation rate was recorded in the United Arab Emirates at 4.94 per cent in August, against the same period last year.
Among the GCC members, the highest inflation rate was recorded in the UAE, followed by Kuwait at 3.84 per cent, Saudi Arabia at 2.1 per cent, Bahrain at 1.7 per cent, Qatar at 1.2 per cent, and the Sultanate at 0.07 per cent.
Compared to the general index of July 2015, the August 2015 shows an increase in the UAE by 0.92 per cent, Bahrain by 0.6 per cent, Qatar by 0.5 per cent, Saudi 0.4 per cent, Kuwait by 0.29 per cent. However, Oman witnessed a fall of 0.14 per cent.
Compared to the same month last year, the prices of the ‘Food and beverage’ group increased in August, 2015 in most of the GCC countries: in Kuwait by 5.62 per cent, followed by Bahrain 2.9 per cent, Saudi Arabia 2.1 per cent, Qatar by 1.9 per cent, and the UAE by 0.64 per cent. In contrast, prices of this group fell in Sultanate by 0.89 per cent.
In August, 2015, the ‘Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ group showed an overall increase across all GCC member the states compared to the same month last year. Rising by 9.85 per cent in the UAE, followed by Kuwait by 6.54 per cent and 3.9 per cent in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain by 2.3 per cent, Qatar by 2.2 per cent and the Sultanate by 0.42 per cent.
The ‘Transport’ group also recorded an increase in most GCC countries during the month of August, 2015 compared to the same month of the previous year. As the transport prices rose in the UAE by 10.72 per cent, Qatar by 2.6 per cent, Saudi Arabia by 1.7 per cent, Kuwait by 0.40 per cent, and Sultanate by 0.32 per cent, In contrast, prices of this group fell in Bahrain by 0.5 per cent.
The data showed that the highest price rises among the main expenditure groups by country in August, 2015 compared to the same month last year were as follows: The ‘Education’ group in both Qatar and the Sultanate by 11.1 per cent and 4.49 per cent respectively, followed by ‘Transport’ group in the UAE by 10.72 per cent.
The ‘Restaurants and hotels’ group in Kuwait by 6.88 per cent, the ‘Health’ group in Bahrain by 4.5 per cent, and ‘Clothing and footwear’ group in Saudi Arabia by 4.1 per cent.
On the other hand, the data indicated that the largest price decreases among the major expenditure groups in each of the GCC countries in August 2015 compared to the same month last year were as follows: the ‘Clothing and footwear’ group in the UAE and Kuwait by 3.92 per cent, and 1.77 per cent respectively.
The ‘Culture and entertainment’ group in Qatar by 3.5 per cent, the ‘Restaurants and hotels’ group in the Saudi Arabia by 2.7 per cent, the ‘Food and beverage’ group in the Sultanate by 0.89 per cent, and the ‘Miscellaneous goods and services’ group in Bahrain by 0.7 per cent. – ONA