This undated file photo shows people shopping at a mall in Dubai. The United Arab Emirates recorded the highest inflation rate among GCC member states in October, registering an increase of 3.11 percent. — File photo MUSCAT — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded the highest inflation rate among GCC member states, registering an increase of 3.11 percent, followed by 3.0 percent in both Kuwait and Qatar, 2.6 percent in Saudi Arabia, 2.5 percent in Bahrain, and 1.02 percent in Oman, according to a recently released report by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat). Inflation rates across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region ranged between 1.02 percent and 3.11 percent in October 2014 compared to October 2013, the GCC-Stat report said. Compared to the month of September 2014, the October 2014 inflation rates showed a slight increase of 0.2 percent in Saudi Arabia, 0.11 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 0.1 percent in both Oman and Qatar, while prices in Bahrain and Kuwait remained stable. Food and beverages prices also showed an increase over the 12-month period in most GCC member states, where prices for this group increased by 3.72 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 3.5 percent in Saudi Arabia, 2.9 percent in Bahrain, 2.58 percent in Kuwait, and 1.04 percent in Oman. Meanwhile, Qatar was the only GCC country where prices for food and beverages decreased in October 2014 by 0.6 percent, compared to October 2013. Pan-GCC figures showed that prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other types of fuel witnessed the highest increase, with Qatar witnessing an increase of 8.2 percent, followed by 5.2 percent in Bahrain, 4.44 percent in Kuwait, 4.17 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 2.8 percent in Saudi Arabia, and slight increase of 0.24 percent in Oman. Transportation prices, however, showed an increase in all the GCC countries where it rose by 2.1 percent in Bahrain, 2.04 percent in Kuwait, 1.7 percent in Qatar, 1.5 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 1.3 percent in Saudi Arabia, and 0.51 percent in Oman. As for highest price growth within different groups of the general consumer price index in each GCC member state, figures showed an increase over the 12-month period through October 2014 as follows: Tobacco prices increased by 12.2 percent and 9.9 percent in Kuwait and Bahrain respectively, while the prices of recreation and culture went up by 8.2 percent in Saudi Arabia. Prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other types of fuel recorded an increase of 8.2 percent in Qatar, while prices for furniture and household goods in Oman grew by 6.03 percent, and also for miscellaneous goods and services in the United Arab Emirates which went up by 4.6 percent over the 12-month period. On the other hand, statistics revealed the highest decreases within the different groups of the general consumer price index, figures showed a decrease in the clothing and footwear prices in Oman by 1.01 percent, while prices of communications in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia went down by 0.69 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Tobacco, food and beverages in Qatar also dropped by 0.6 percent, while prices of furniture and household items in Bahrain decreased by 0.9 percent in the same period. In contrast, no drop in prices witnessed in the UAE through October 2014. — SG
