UAE inflation retreated from a six-year high in September, as a cut in fuel prices significantly lowered transport costs.
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that year-on-year inflation decreased to 4.3 per cent last month.
This compares with a 4.9 per cent rise for August, the highest monthly figure since 2009.
The decline was largely explained by a decrease in fuel costs for the month of September, after the UAE’s Ministry of Energy reduced the cost of petrol by about 8 per cent.
As a result, transport costs fell by 4.4 per cent compared with last month, according to the statistics bureau.
However, transport costs are still up 5.9 per cent compared with last September, according to the statistics bureau, after the Government introduced a new method of calculating fuel prices in July.
Housing was the fastest-growing category, rising by 8.3 per cent year-on-year.
Education and textiles, clothing and footwear experienced the highest monthly price increases in September, rising by 3.3 and 3.11 per cent, respectively.
The release of national inflation figures came shortly after Dubai Statistics Centre announced a similar drop in annual inflation to 3.9 per cent from 4.4 per cent in August, according to Reuters.
Housing and utility costs, which account for nearly 44 per cent of total consumer expenses in the emirate, rose 6.6 per cent year-on-year, even as property prices and rents continue to decline.
jeverington@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
The years Ramadan fell in May
