Dubai’s annual inflation stood at 3.15% y-o-y during February, remaining unchanged from January, according to figures from the Dubai Statistics Center (pdf).

Segments seeing growth: Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels — the largest component of the basket of goods and services — saw a 7.36% increase, growing at a faster rate than in January, which saw a 7.19% rise. This also puts it ahead of a 12-month high of 7.21% from last December.

Several baskets saw price rises ebb: Price growth in recreation, sport and culture slowed to 3.93%, down from 6.62% the previous month. Restaurants and accommodation services also saw a slowdown. The food and beverages, clothing and footwear, and transport baskets saw their negative growth rates deepen last month, compared to in January.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index saw a 0.54% uptick in February, according to Dubai Statistics Center data (pdf), following a 0.01% fall in inflation figures the month before.

The outlook going forward: The Central Bank of the UAE has pencilled in an inflation rate of 2.0% for 2025 with the “non-tradable components of the consumer basket expected to be the main drivers.” Elsewhere, Emirates NBD predicted an average 2.1% inflation rate for the wider GCC region, and the IMF revised down its December prediction of 2.1% inflation to 2% for the UAE.

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