A report issued by Dubai Statistics Center showed that the monthly inflation index for the prices of commodities and services for the consumer basket has risen 0.65% for the month of May 2015 has increased compared to the month of April 2015 and this was a result of the increase in the price of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group by 3.01% as the relative importance of this group reached 11.08% of the total consumer basked and the increase in the index for the housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel group was by 0.70% and this group is the highest group in terms of relative impermanence in the consumer basked with a relative importance of 43.70%. Furthermore, the prices for the miscellaneous services and goods group were up by 0,06% with the relative importance of this group being 6.15%. There increase in the inflation index for the entertainment and culture group was 0,03% and the relative importance of this group was 4.24% of the total consumer basket, whereas the price index for the commodities in the transport group dropped by 0.08% with a relative importance of 9.08%, the prices for the hotels and restaurants group was down by 0,05% with a relative importance of 5.48%. The prices for the furniture and home appliances and repair group dropped by 0,02% and the relative importance of this group was 3.34% of the total relative importance for the consumer basked. The prices for the remaining groups were stable at the previous levels during the comparison period which produced no effects on the index movement. It is worth mentioning that the relative importance of each group within the consumer basked was 0.24% for the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group and 5.52% for the clothes and footwear group, and 1.08% for the health group and 6.00% for the telecommunications group and 4.09% for the education group, all from the total consumer basket.
On another level, the annual inflation index for the commodities and services prices for the consumer basked was up by 4.68% for May 2015 compared to the same period in the year 2014. The increase in the inflation index for the clothing and footwear group was by 8.67% and the increase in the index for the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group was 8.05%. The prices in the housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel group increased by 7.81% and the inflation index for the furniture home appliances and repair group was up by 7.33% and the impact in the changes in the prices of commodities and services in the miscellaneous commodities and services group was up by 3.29% and the increase in the inflation index for the hotels and restaurant group was 2.91% and the increase in the tuition fees led to an increase in the education group by 2.22% and the prices for the food and non-alcoholic beverages group were up by 1.67% and the index for the transport group was up by 1.21% and the prices for the telecommunications group was up by 0,79% and the prices for the health group were up by 0.57% and the index for the entertainment and culture group was up by 0.07%.
The Inflation Rate for Consumer Prices for the Main Spending Groups was as follows:
Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages
The effect of the changes in the prices of commodities and services for the previous month within the food and non-alcoholic beverages group resulted in an increase in the inflation index for the group by 3.01% as a result in the increase in the prices of vegetables by 9.70% due to delays in imported shipments and the increased temperatures at the country of origin, the prices of fish and sea food were also up by 9.37% due to the increased temperatures and this increased the prices of fruits by 5.48% due to the increased price of fruits imports.
By studying the index on the annual level, it was noted that there was an increase in the price of inflation for the group by 1.67% due to the increase in the prices of vegetables by 5.97% and the prices of food not falling under another category was up by 3.59% and the prices of bread, cereals and cereal products were up by 2.00%.
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
The inflation index for the alcoholic beverages and tobacco was stable while the annual index for the group increased by 8.05% this was due to the increase in the price of tobacco by 11.11% and increase in the prices was noted since last July in all sales outlets.
Clothing and Footwear
Despite the stability in the inflation index for the prices of clothing and footwear compared to last month, however, the annual inflation index increased by 8.67% this was due to the increase in the prices of readymade clothes by 11.92% and the prices for footwear were up by 2.80%, as well as, the prices for textiles which were up by 2.29%.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel
By monitoring the prices within the housing, water, electricity , gas and fuel, an increase in the monthly inflation index by 0.70% was noted as a result of the increased lease prices paid by tenants by 0.81% and which are an extension of the series of increases witnessed by Dubai. The increases in the price of commodities and services continued which increased the annual inflation index by 7.81% in this group, this was due to the increase in the leases paid by tenants by 9.47% due to the series of increases experienced by Dubai compared to the previous years.
Furniture Home Appliances and Repair Thereof
The prices of commodities and services in the furniture and home appliances and repair thereof were down and this lowered the monthly inflation index by 0.02% and the movement of the index in this manner was due to the decrease in the prices of basic home appliances by 0.89% as well as the decrease in the price of non-durablehome appliances by 0.02%. On the annual level, the inflation index for the group increased by 7.33% due to the increase in the prices of small home appliances by 27.26%, housing services by 13.52% due to suspension by the Philippine Republic of the supply of domestic workers, which led to a drop on the demand by workers and the increase in the demand for the other available nationalities, as well as, the increase in the prices of non-durable home appliances by 1.87%.
Health
The inflation index was stable for the health group whereas the annual inflation index for the prices of the health group commodities and services increased to 0.57% driven by the increase in the prices of medical tests and radiological tests by 5.00% this was followed by the prices for dental services by 1.82% then the prices for hospital services by 0.80%.
Transportation
The transportation group witnessed a drop in the monthly inflation index by 0.08% due to the drop in the purchasing prices for means of personal transport by 1.10% due to offers made by care agencies. For the annual level, the inflation index for the group recorded 1.21% and this increase was due to the impact on the index form the increase in the prices of land transport by 13.87 after the decision issued by the Roads and Transport Authority regarding the new tax tariff for trips inside Dubai on December last year2014 and the increase in the prices of spare parts and accessories for means of transport by 7.63% and the prices of motorbikes by 2.51% which led to increasing the annual inflation index.
Telecommunications
Despite the stability of the inflation index for the telecommunications group compared to last month, the annual inflation index was up by 0.79% due to the increase in the prices of postal services by 10.71% due to the decision by Emirates Post to increase the rent for postal boxes for individuals since last December, as well as, the prices for the telecommunications services which increased by 0.90%.
Entertainment and Culture
The entertainment and culture group witnessed a slight increase in the monthly inflation index by 0.03% due to the increase in the prices of stationary and drawing material by 0.29% and on the annual level, the inflation index increased in this group by 0.07% due to the increase in the prices of cultural services by 3.50% . Furthermore, the prices of books increased by 0.72% as well as the prices for stationary and drawing materials by 0.56%.
Education
The monthly inflation index was stable in the education group without any changes and this was due to the nature of the academic year in Dubai. As for tuition fees on the annual level, such fees witnessed an increase that resulted in increasing the inflation index for the education group by 2.22% where the tuition fees for the secondary stage witnessed the highest increase in prices by 2.59% and the tuition fees for the kindergarten stage and the primary stage increased by 2.52% and the university tuition fees were up by 1.41% due to the inflation that affected the group.
Restaurants and Hotels
The prices for commodities and services in the restaurants and hotels group were monitored and a drop in the monthly inflation index by 0.05% was recorded due to the drop in the hotel accommodation prices by 13.33% and the annual index in the group moved in an opposite direction to increase to 2.91% due to the increase of the prices of restaurants and cafes by 2.97%.
Miscellaneous Commodities and Services
The miscellaneous commodities and services witnessed an increase in the price of commodities and services under this group which led to the increase in the monthly inflation index in the group by 0.06% and this was due to the increase in the price of electrical personal care equipment by 7.93% and the prices for personal care equipment and materials and prices for services not categorized elsewhere were increased by 0.12%. The same trend was seen in the increase in the annual inflation index for the group to reach 3.29% and this was due to the increase in the price of services not categorized elsewhere by 6.01% . The prices for electrical personal care equipment increased by 5.28% and the prices for insuring vehicles increased by 5.13% due to the decision to keep insurance companies under obligation to pay for providers of ambulance services which led to increasing the prices of insurance documents to clients and which resulted in increasing the index to this level.