Over the 12 months to December 2017, GCC consumer prices rose by 2.2%

In terms of contributions to the 2.2 percent annual increase, Tobacco and Transport contributed 0.6 percentage points each, Food and Miscellaneous 0.4 percentage points each, and Education 0.2 percentage points, in contrast, The Clothing and Footwear contributed by -0.1 percentage points.

Over the 12 months to December 2017, the country contributions to overall GCC consumer price change were UAE 1.4 percentage points, Saudi Arabia 0.4 percentage points, Kuwait 0.2 percentage points, Oman and Qatar 0.1 percentage points each, while Bahrain did not record any contribution.

GCC consumer price have slightly increased in December 2017 by 0.3% compared with the previous month. The most significant price rises during December 2017 were in Transport 2.0%, Recreation 1.5% and Restaurant & Hotels 0.2%. In contrast, Clothing & Footwear fell by -0.6%, as well as Food, Furnishings and Miscellaneous fell by -0.1% each.

GCC CONSUMER PRICE CHANGE, DECEMBER 2017

	Table 1. Aggregate GCC inflation
			Index points, 2007=100				Change, Percent
Main Groups		Weights Per cent	December 2016	November 2017	December 2017		December 2017 / November 2017	December 2017 / December 2016
Food and beverage		25.1	143.7	146.1	146.0		-0.1	1.6
Tobacco		0.5	182.3	329.0	329.0		0.0	80.5
Clothing and footwear		8.6	114.7	113.9	113.3		-0.6	-1.3
Furnishings, household equipment		10.5	137.1	137.2	137.1		-0.1	0.0
Health		2.7	121.4	122.3	122.3		0.1	0.8
Transport		16.8	123.6	125.7	128.3		2.0	3.8
Communication		8.9	95.7	96.2	96.0		-0.2	0.3
Recreation and culture		5.1	118.3	117.7	119.4		1.5	0.9
Education		6.3	156.3	161.0	161.0		0.0	3.0
Restaurants and hotels		6.8	133.9	133.1	133.4		0.2	-0.4
Miscellaneous		8.8	131.3	137.0	136.9		-0.1	4.2
All Groups Excluding Housing		100.0	130.2	132.7	133.1		0.3	2.2

 

KEY POINTS: DECEMBER 2016 TO DECEMBER 2017

 THE GCC ALL GROUPS EXCLUDING HOUSING

• Rose 2.2 percent over the twelve months, compared to 4% rise over the period November 2016 to November 2017.
• The most significant price rises over the twelve months were for Tobacco 80.5%, Miscellaneous 4.2%, Transport 3.8%, Education 3.0%, and Food 1.6%. On the other hand, Clothing and Footwear fell by -1.3%, as well as Restaurant & Hotels fell by -0.4%.

 

 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PRICE CHANGE OVER THE 12 MONTHS

• Of the 2.2 percent growth in GCC Consumer Prices over the 12 months to December 2017, the most significant contributors were:
  • Tobacco and Transport contributed 0.6 percentage points each.
  • Food and Miscellaneous contributed 0.4 percentage points each.
  • Education contributed 0.2 percentage points.
  • Clothing by -0.1 percentage.

 

• At the country level:
  • UAE contributed 1.4 percentage points.
  • Saudi Arabia 0.4 percentage points.
  • Kuwait 0.2 percentage points.
  • Oman 0.1 percentage points.
  • Qatar 0.1 percentage points.
  • Bahrain 0.0 percentage points.

 

KEY POINTS: DECEMBER 2017

THE GCC ALL GROUPS EXCLUDING HOUSING

• GCC consumer price have slightly increased in December 2017 by 0.3% compared with the previous month.

OVERVIEW OF CPI MOVEMENTS IN DECEMBER 2017

• The most significant price rise this month are Transport 2.0%, Recreation 1.5% and Restaurant & Hotels 0.2%.  
• The most significant offsetting price declines this month were Clothing & Footwear fell by -0.6%, as well as Food, Furnishings and Miscellaneous fell by -0.1% each.

 

Further information and statistics are available from the GCC-Stat website: http://www.gccstat.org
For more details on the construction of the GCC index of consumer price change, see (http://gccstat.org/en/elibrary/publications/gccstat/item/aggregate-gcc-inflation)

 

[1]  GCC-Stat compiles an aggregate inflation measure for the whole GCC region. This aggregate excludes the “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other related items” group from national indices, for which the data are deemed non-comparable due to methodological differences that significantly hinders cross-country comparisons. The national CPI data are weighted into a GCC aggregate using Purchasing power parity adjusted estimates of relevant national household consumption expenditures.