Dubai: Consumer prices in Dubai softened for a fifth consecutive month in March on the back of slowing in food, housing and communications cost increases, official data showed on Tuesday.
Analysts said lower prices increase Dubai’s competitiveness in the business arena.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for last month stood at 115.47 compared to 11 5.61 in February and 115.86 in January, according to data collated by Dubai Statistics Centre.
On an annual basis, however, prices in the emirate continue to rise, but at a slower rate. March witnessed a 0.83 per cent rise in prices compared to the same month in 2009, with education, health and transport costs increasing the most.
“From the economic perspective, the much-awaited correction in prices will make Dubai more attractive for businesses, and I suspect we will see more new registrations this year in the SME segment,” one business analyst said.
Inflation in the UAE as a whole hit a nine-year low of 1.5 per cent in 2009 from 12.3 per cent in 2008, due to a fall in the household category. The global financial crisis ended an oil- and real estate-fuelled boom in the Gulf, depressing consumer prices from record peaks set in 2008. [Read More]
