Business Bureau, Gulf Today

According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for the month of March 2020 released recently by the Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD), the CPI declined by 2.6 per cent to 107.6 points in March 2020 down from 110.5 points in March 2019.

As further detailed in the report, the CPI dropped by 1.5 per cent during March 2020 to 107.6 points, compared with 109.3 points in February 2020. Furthermore, average consumer prices decreased by 2.2 per cent during the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, with the CPI at 108.9 points, compared with 111.3 points during Q1 of 2019.

A breakdown of the report data by household welfare level indicates a 1.9 per cent decline in consumer prices for households at the bottom welfare level, 2.2 per cent for the middle welfare level and 2.1 per cent for the top welfare level over the Q1 of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.

Analysed by household type, the decline in consumer prices during Q1 of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019 was 2.0 per cent for citizen households, 2.3 per cent for non-citizens and 2.2 per cent for share households.

SCAD’s CPI report also lays out the contribution of the main 12 expenditure groups to the overall change in consumer prices. The groups are categorised according to the International Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP). The housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel group contributed 70.3 per cent to the overall decrease in CPI during Q1 of 2020, compared with same period in 2019. The prices of this group dropped by 4.8 per cent.

The miscellaneous goods and services group contributed 19.2 per cent to the decrease recorded from January-March 2020 compared with the same period in 2019, as the group’s prices fell by 5.5 per cent. Additionally, the furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance group contributed 15.5 per cent to the overall drop in Q1 of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. The prices of this group fell by 4.6 per cent.

The prices of the recreation and culture group, meanwhile, surged 8.7 per cent in Q1 of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, offsetting the overall y-o-y drop in the CPI during Q1 2020 by 19.6 per cent. SCAD’s CPI report presents comparisons of monthly price data, along with analyses by household welfare, household type and geographical location. It also provides the percentage contribution of the major expenditure groups to annual price changes.

Earlier in light of the unprecedented challenges facing the current economic situation, and the need to keep decision-makers and consumers alike informed on goods prices in the emirate, the SCAD released the results of the ‘Weekly Goods Price Report’ for the first week of April 2020, where it oversaw and quantified changes in the economy by monitoring the prices of 332 consumer goods, categorised in ten spending groups.

SCAD noted that these findings lead to better informed consumers, and give a clear indication of the prices of food and non-food goods that are of interest to consumers. The current statistics show that food goods represent 82.6 per cent of all 332 consumer goods, leaving non-food goods at 17.4 per cent. This indicates a 3.7 per cent increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of food and non-food goods in the first week of April compared to February 2020.

Statistics Centre − Abu Dhabi (SCAD) was established in 2008 in accordance with Law No. (7), to develop and organise statistical work in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in particular and the United Arab Emirates in general. SCAD’s purpose is to produce statistical information that is consistent with the Emirate’s orientation towards sustainable development and strategic plans under the supervision and with full support of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Being the of the official statistical data collection agency in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the centre assumes the functions of preparing the statistical plans and programmes that serve the emirate’s wider development programmes, conducting statistical surveys across the emirate. SCAD is also responsible for the collection, classification, storage, analysis and dissemination of official statistics and the release of the results of social, demographic, economic, environmental and cultural surveys.

The activities of the centre encompass all areas relating to social conditions in accordance with relevant international standards and ethics, such as independence, professionalism, impartiality, objectivity, confidentiality, cost effectiveness and quality of statistics.