JEDDAH – Oman recorded the lowest inflation rate at 0.07 percent in August among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The highest inflation rate was recorded in the United Arab Emirates at 4.94 percent 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 percent, Saudi Arabia at 2.1 percent, Bahrain at 1.7 percent, Qatar at 1.2 percent, and the Sultanate at 0.07 percent.
Compared to the general index of July 2015, the August 2015 shows an increase in the UAE by 0.92 percent, Bahrain by 0.6 percent, Qatar by 0.5 percent, Saudi 0.4 percent, Kuwait by 0.29 percent. However, Oman witnessed a fall of 0.14 percent.
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 percent, followed by Bahrain 2.9 percent, Saudi Arabia 2.1 percent, Qatar by 1.9 percent, and the UAE by 0.64 percent. In contrast, prices of this group fell in Sultanate by 0.89 percent.
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 percent in the UAE, followed by Kuwait by 6.54 percent and 3.9 percent in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain by 2.3 percent, Qatar by 2.2 percent and the Sultanate by 0.42 percent.
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 percent, Qatar by 2.6 percent, Saudi Arabia by 1.7 percent, Kuwait by 0.40 percent, and Sultanate by 0.32 percent, In contrast, prices of this group fell in Bahrain by 0.5 percent.
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 percent and 4.49 percent respectively, followed by ‘Transport’ group in the UAE by 10.72 percent. The ‘Restaurants and hotels’ group in Kuwait by 6.88 percent, the ‘Health’ group in Bahrain by 4.5 percent, and ‘Clothing and footwear’ group in Saudi Arabia by 4.1 percent.
However, 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 percent, and 1.77 percent respectively. The ‘Culture and entertainment’ group in Qatar by 3.5 percent, the ‘Restaurants and hotels’ group in the Saudi Arabia by 2.7 percent, the ‘Food and beverage’ group in the Sultanate by 0.89 percent, and the ‘Miscellaneous goods and services’ group in Bahrain by 0.7 percent. — ONA
