الرئيسية
CPI flat m/m vs +0.3 pct in Oct
* Food prices fall, housing costs unchanged
DUBAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Dubai's annual inflation
rate edged lower to 0.2 percent in November as food prices
dropped and housing costs were steady, data showed on Thursday,
as analysts forecast only soft price pressures in the real
estate sector next year.
Consumer price growth in Dubai has held below 1 percent for
most of the year as bank lending remains slow and the property
sector weak in the wake of the emirate's 2009 debt crisis.
Inflation was at a three-month high of 0.3 percent in October.
Prices were unchanged on a month-on-month basis in November,
after a 0.3 percent increase in the previous month, the data
from the Dubai Statistics Center showed.
"Inflation is not a concern this year and next; we don't see
pressures from importers such as food or clothing. We continue
to see softening in local demand and in the real estate mainly,"
said Mahdi Mattar, chief economist at CAPM Investment in Dubai.
Last week, Abu Dhabi reported that its annual inflation rate
slowed to a 23-month low of 0.6 percent in November from 0.9
percent in October. The United Arab Emirates has yet to release
November consumer price data for the whole seven-member
federation.
In Dubai, food costs, the second largest consumer expense
with an 11 percent weighting in the index, decreased 0.8 percent
month-on-month after a 0.5 percent rise in October.
"Food prices were high during summer and Ramadan (holy
fasting month), and then started to get back down," Mattar said.
Housing prices, the biggest component in the Dubai basket,
were unchanged for the second consecutive month in November.
Analysts polled by Reuters in September predicted average
inflation in the UAE of 2.0 percent in 2011 and 3.0 percent in
2012, up from 0.9 percent last year.
But Mattar said, "In 2012 we will see more delivery in real
estate in Dubai which will put further pressure on prices. The
main component which is housing will continue to be soft."
UAE central bank governor Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi said in
June that inflation this year was likely to be lower than 3
percent as the real estate sector remained under pressure.
The country's economy minister called this month for
measures to prevent traders and commercial outlets from hiking
prices, after President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan
ordered a doubling of salaries of some state employees in
several sectors.
(Editing by Andrew Torchia)
* Food prices fall, housing costs unchanged
DUBAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Dubai's annual inflation
rate edged lower to 0.2 percent in November as food prices
dropped and housing costs were steady, data showed on Thursday,
as analysts forecast only soft price pressures in the real
estate sector next year.
Consumer price growth in Dubai has held below 1 percent for
most of the year as bank lending remains slow and the property
sector weak in the wake of the emirate's 2009 debt crisis.
Inflation was at a three-month high of 0.3 percent in October.
Prices were unchanged on a month-on-month basis in November,
after a 0.3 percent increase in the previous month, the data
from the Dubai Statistics Center showed.
"Inflation is not a concern this year and next; we don't see
pressures from importers such as food or clothing. We continue
to see softening in local demand and in the real estate mainly,"
said Mahdi Mattar, chief economist at CAPM Investment in Dubai.
Last week, Abu Dhabi reported that its annual inflation rate
slowed to a 23-month low of 0.6 percent in November from 0.9
percent in October. The United Arab Emirates has yet to release
November consumer price data for the whole seven-member
federation.
In Dubai, food costs, the second largest consumer expense
with an 11 percent weighting in the index, decreased 0.8 percent
month-on-month after a 0.5 percent rise in October.
"Food prices were high during summer and Ramadan (holy
fasting month), and then started to get back down," Mattar said.
Housing prices, the biggest component in the Dubai basket,
were unchanged for the second consecutive month in November.
Analysts polled by Reuters in September predicted average
inflation in the UAE of 2.0 percent in 2011 and 3.0 percent in
2012, up from 0.9 percent last year.
But Mattar said, "In 2012 we will see more delivery in real
estate in Dubai which will put further pressure on prices. The
main component which is housing will continue to be soft."
UAE central bank governor Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi said in
June that inflation this year was likely to be lower than 3
percent as the real estate sector remained under pressure.
The country's economy minister called this month for
measures to prevent traders and commercial outlets from hiking
prices, after President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan
ordered a doubling of salaries of some state employees in
several sectors.
(Editing by Andrew Torchia)