Higher food prices were a key driver of a jump in consumer prices in the capital last month.

Inflation edged up 1.8 per cent compared with November 2012, according to Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi (Scad).

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages went up by 3.8 per cent, the same amount as the clothing and footwear and furnishings and household equipment groups. Restaurant and hotel prices rose 3.7 per cent.

Scad did not mention the contribution of the housing and utility group, which carries the largest weight on the index. Housing prices in the emirate have generally showed signs of stabilising and even picking up in some areas in recent months, according to property brokers.

The agency said consumer prices escalated by 0.1 per cent last month from October.

Inflation reached 1.1 per cent in the capital last year, the fourth year in a row of subdued inflation. Inflationary pressures have remained muted since the global financial crisis as a result of slack consumer demand and weakness in the property market. But economists expect prices to creep higher next year as the population grows and activity heats up in the housing market.

During the first 11 months of the year, inflation edged up by 1.2 per cent compared with the same period of last year, according to Scad. Food prices were the largest single driver of higher prices, contributing 24 per cent to the rise.

Prices of vegetables rose by 7.6 per cent; coffee, tea and cocoa by 6.1 per cent; and fruits by 2.7 per cent. Transport and clothing and footwear were the sectors contributing the next biggest jump in prices.

tarnold@thenational.ae