Food, transport drive gains in consumer prices

Consumer prices in Dubai rose 0.5 per cent in June on a monthly basis, the fastest pace in 10 months, driven by increases in food and transportation costs, according to the latest data by the Dubai Statistics Centre. Inflation rose by 0.8 per cent on an annual basis in June, the data showed. Food prices increased 6.7 per cent while transportation costs rose 6.6 per cent, the report said. The trend of rising food prices may not continue for the rest of the year though, some analysts say. Article continues below "Globally there's been a decline in agriculture prices over last month or so, a reflection of slowing growth in G8 countries and flattening of prices not seen for some time now," said Mark McFarland, Emerging Markets Economist at Emirates NBD. While food inflation is a problem, food prices only account for 11 per cent weightage in the consumer price index and other consumer costs have remained steady in the past six months, he added. In the first half of this year, the inflation rate was 0.8 per cent and food costs rose by 5.38 per cent. The government has called on retailers to slash prices of basic commodities by up to 50 per cent during Ramadan and plans to fix prices of around 400 foodstuffs and household products. But price caps are not the most effective solution to spiralling food prices, he said. "Controlling prices results in the misallocation of resources... You get sectors in economy that should not get investments."