(WAM) — UAE consumer prices declined during the period from June 2019 through June 2020, pushing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) down by 2.36 percent, according to recent figures released by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority.

CPI is an important economic indicator. It provides a measure of changes in prices over time paid by UAE households for a fixed basket of goods and services. It’s an important component in monitoring the levels of inflation in an economy. If there’s inflation when goods and services cost more the CPI will rise. If the CPI declines, that means there’s deflation, or a steady decrease in the prices of goods and services.

The group with the largest annual decrease was the Recreation and Culture with 18.66 pct. Within the Food and Beverages Group, fish and seafood recorded the largest monthly increase of 2.03%. In the meantime, the group with the largest annual increase over this period was Textiles, Clothing and Footwear with 10.70 pct.

Between May 2020 and June 2020, the UAE’s CPI logged an increase of 0.33 percent (from 106.90 to 107.25). The group with the largest increase over the same period was the Restaurants and Hotels with 1.27 pct. The expenditure group that recorded the largest monthly decrease was Furniture and Household Goods with 1.02 pct.

From May 2020 to June 2020, Dubai, Sharjah, Um Al Quwain, Ajman, and Fujairah emirates recorded an increase in their CPI, whilst Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, recorded a decrease in consumer prices.

Within the Food and beverages group, the Fish and Seafood subgroup recorded the largest increase of 2.03 pct. The Fruit Subgroup recorded the largest monthly decrease of 4.11 pct.