Food prices drive rise in Abu Dhabi consumer costs

Consumer prices in Abu Dhabi climbed 2.1 percent during the first ten months of 2011 driven by rising food prices, according to figures released by the state-run statistics agency on Saturday. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent last month compared to October 2010 representing a 22-month low, a report published by the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi showed. Month-to-month, prices rose 0.3 percent, the SCAD analysis added. Food and non-alcoholic drinks contributed the largest share (64.2 percent) of the rise in the index during the first ten months of 2011. The largest increase within this group was in the prices of meat and coffee, tea and cocoa, which advanced by 14.3 percent each. Other big risers were fruits (up 11.4 percent), soft drinks (up 8.7 percent), and bread and cereals (up seven percent). The transport and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels groups also helped drive up prices from January to October with 6.2 percent and 1.8 percent rises compared to the same period last year. Buy contrast, the clothing and footwear group saw prices drop by nearly 15 percent compared to the first 10 months of 2010, SCAD added. The statistics showed that in October the most significant individual price increase was eight percent reported for the restaurants and hotels group, followed by alcoholic beverages and tobacco (up 7.4 percent, while clothing and footwear prices fell 11.3 percent compared to October 2010.