Consumer prices in UAE rise 1.43%

Consumer prices in the UAE rose 1.43 per cent year-on-year during the first half of 2011, the latest consumer price index (CPI) figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. The overall CPI for the UAE reached 116.10 in June, and in comparison with the base year, 2007,, it increased 0.44 per cent compared to its value at the end of May 2011, and increased by 1.73 per cent compared to its value at the end of June 2010. The findings of the CPI for June showed that the prices of furniture in the UAE rose 2.34 per cent, food and soft drinks prices rose 1.44 per cent, while miscellaneous goods and services rose 0.67 per cent. Housing costs rose 0.17 per cent, transportation costs were up 0.02 per cent and textiles, clothing and footwear prices rose 0.45 per cent. Article continues below At the same time, there were decreases in other major expenditure groups such as communications by 0.29 per cent, restaurants and hotels by 0.01 per cent and recreation and culture by 0.01 per cent. "It seems there are some inflationary pressures within the UAE economy. The government is aware of this and the Ministry of Economy is working hard to reduce prices of consumer items ahead of Ramadan in cooperation with retailers and cooperatives," Mohammad Amerah, an Abu Dhabi-based economist told Gulf News. In Abu Dhabi, consumer prices increased 2.4 per cent on the year in June, latest figures released on Saturday by Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (Scad) showed.