The GCC region witnessed a moderate 3.0% inflation in consumer prices during 2012, down from 3.7% in 2011, according to QNB Group analysis. This is relatively low when compared to the global average inflation of 4.0% and the MENA region’s 10.4%, according to IMF estimates. It was the fourth consecutive year that the GCC prices rose at only a moderate rate, following a period of higher inflation that peaked at 11.2% in 2008.
The three most heavily weighted price categories in the consumer price indices (CPIs) across the region are housing costs, food & beverages and transport & communications. These categories represent two-thirds of the CPI basket in the GCC and rose by 3.0%, 4.5% and 1.5%, respectively, in 2012. Prices of other goods and services rose on average by 2.7%.
Whereas devaluing currencies are an important driver of inflation in many MENA countries, the pegged exchange rate system in the GCC contributes to price stability. Subsidies, particularly on fuel, also shelter the GCC from a significant driver of inflation in some other MENA countries.
Read more: http://www.gulfbase.com/news/gcc-inflation-was-a-moderate-3-in-2012/230028
The three most heavily weighted price categories in the consumer price indices (CPIs) across the region are housing costs, food & beverages and transport & communications. These categories represent two-thirds of the CPI basket in the GCC and rose by 3.0%, 4.5% and 1.5%, respectively, in 2012. Prices of other goods and services rose on average by 2.7%.
Whereas devaluing currencies are an important driver of inflation in many MENA countries, the pegged exchange rate system in the GCC contributes to price stability. Subsidies, particularly on fuel, also shelter the GCC from a significant driver of inflation in some other MENA countries.
Read more: http://www.gulfbase.com/news/gcc-inflation-was-a-moderate-3-in-2012/230028
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