Abu Dhabi inflation down on lower petrol

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi's consumer price index dropped 0.6 per cent month-on-month in October, as a result of cuts in petroleum prices.
The largest falls recorded in October compared with September were observed in the transport group, which dropped 4.5 per cent, followed by food and beverages that fell 2.3 per cent.
At the moment in the UAE, inflation is mainly driven by housing, transportation and food.
Since rents are expected to decline, and since gasoline prices that are adjusted to international benchmark have declined during October and November, the cost of living and inflation is expected to drop as well.
In 2014, the UAE had total subsidies on fuel amounting to Dh9 billion, which it withdrew in a phased manner on July 28 this year. Since then, four interventions have taken place, drastically cutting oil prices.
On October 28, the higher level committee, comprising the CEOs of oil marketing and distributing companies and UAE Minister of Energy Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui decided to cut the diesel price by two fils, or 1.069 per cent, to Dh1.87 per litre.
A breakdown of the fall in consumer prices during October in terms of welfare level indicates a drop of 0.8 per cent in consumer prices for households of the bottom- and middle-welfare levels, and 0.4 per-cent for the top-welfare level.
Detailed by household type, the 0.6 per cent fall in consumer prices during October impacted consumer prices for citizen and non-citizen households by a proportionate fall of 0.6 per cent, while shared households experienced a fall of 0.7 per cent over the same period.
haseeb@khaleejtimes.com