JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia recorded the highest rate of inflation with 3.7 percent, followed by Bahrain 3.6 percent, Qatar 3.1 percent, Kuwait 2.87 percent, Oman at 1.5 percent compared to 2.9 percent, United Arab Emirates at 1.26 percent, compared with the same month last year, Oman’s the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) said.
The consumer monthly price indices in the GCC countries in July recorded its highest level in the Sultanate by 1.2 percent, followed by Bahrain 0.8 percent, Saudi 0.4 percent and Kuwait 0.16 percent. The index declined in the UAE by 0.04 percent and showed no change in Qatar.
The projections issued in a report of the World Economic Outlook Update in July indicate that the inflation in 2013 would reach about 6 percent in the economies of the emerging and developing markets, while it will reach 1.5 percent in the developed economies. For July, the Inflation rate in the Sultanate’s most important trading partners was 2.8 percent in the United Kingdom, 2.6 percent in China, 2 percent in the United States.
Comparing inflation in the Sultanate with those countries, Oman had 1.5 percent inflation in July, which is lower than the inflation levels in the trading partners.
The report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicated a drop in the average food price index in July by 2 percent from the levels in June. The decrease was attributed to lower dairy prices by 4.3 percent, sugar 3 percent and grains 1 percent. The prices of oils and fats slightly decreased during the period while meat prices rose by 2 percent compared to the previous month. The decline was attributable to lower prices for all food groups except meat, which was stable compared to June of the same year, as grain prices declined by 3.7 percent, oils and fats by 3.3 percent, sugar by 1.5 percent and dairy products by 1.1 percent.
The prices of foodstuffs in the Sultanate rose in July by 2.8 percent, compared to the previous month as prices of grains and sugar increased by 0.1 percent, whereas the prices of oil and fat decreased by 0.4 percent and the dairy by 0.1 percent, while the price of meat stabilized during this period.
The report showed that the general trend of inflation in Sultanate in the first 7 months of 2013 recorded a decline compared to the last months of 2012 due to slower growth in domestic liquidity, as well as positive developments of the imported inflation rates.
The statistics show that inflation rate dropped from 1.5 percent in May to 1 percent in June and then it rose to 1.5 percent in July. — SG