(MENAFN - Emirates News Agency (WAM)) Per cent. Average consumer prices decreased by 0.3 percent in December 2012 compared with November 2012, reflecting the net outcome of upward and downward movements in the consumer basket items between the two months compared.
According to SCAD's report, the 1.1 rise in consumer prices in 2012 compared with 2011, when detailed by welfare levels, is shown to have impacted consumer prices for households of the bottom welfare levels by a 1.3 percent rise for the same period of comparison. Meanwhile prices increased by 1.1 percent and 1.2 percent for households of the upper and the middle welfare level, respectively.
The 0.7 percent increase in consumer prices in December 2012 by compared with December 2011 produced a rise by 0.5 percent in consumer prices for households in the bottom and the middle welfare quintiles, and by 0.9 percent for households of the top welfare level.
The 0.3 percent fall recorded in consumer prices in December compared with November 2012 led to a drop of 0.5 percent in consumer prices for households of the bottom welfare level, 0.2 percent for households of the top quintile and 0.3 percent for the middle welfare level.
A breakdown by household type of the 1.1 rise in consumer prices during 2012, compared with 2011 shows that prices advanced by: 1.2 percent for citizen households, 1.0 percent for non-citizen households and 1.6 percent for shared households.
As a result of the 0.7 rise in consumer prices in December 2012 compared with December 2011, consumer prices increased by 0.6 percent for citizen households, 0.8 percent for non-citizen households and 1.0 percent for shared households between two periods compared.
The 0.3 percent fall in consumer prices in December compared with November 2012 caused prices to nudge down by a proportional 0.3 percent for citizen households and by 0.2 percent for non-citizen households and 0.6 percent for shared households between the two months compared.
In preparing its monthly CPI reports, Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi follows the methodologies adopted internationally in this field, using a broad and highly representative basket of goods and service, to ensure accuracy in the calculation of the index, which is the sole officially authorized source for monitoring changes in prices and inflation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
SCAD has recently developed the computing of the CPI so that it is compiled according to households' types and levels of welfare. As for the welfare level approach, the population is divided into five segments (quintiles) representing five levels of welfare, based on average per capita annual expenditure. Each quintile reflects the consumption pattern represented by that quintile.
In regard to the household type approach, the population is divided into three types of households as set out in the results of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (2007-2008), namely, national, non-national and collective households.
To represent all regions of the Emirate, the selected sample of items included in the Consumer Price Index basket uses actual data from the 2007 household income and expenditure survey. The sample of outlets were selected in such a way as to represent points of purchase for a large base of consumers all over the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, taking into account the geographical distribution of sources within the emirate.
