Consumer prices in United Arab Emirates declined 2.39% yoy in January of 2019 compared to a 0.34% rise in the previous month. It was the first month of deflation since November of 2011, as the impact of the introduction of a 5% VAT in January of 2018 dissipates. Prices fell for housing & utilities (-5.8% from -5.0% in December); transport (-6.4% from 1.9%); food and beverages (-1.1% from 1.3%); miscellaneous goods & services (-1.8% from 1.3%) and for medical care (-0.1%, at the same pace as in December). Meantime, cost slowed for education (1.4% from 2.5%); communication (0.8% from 3.8%); restaurant & hotels (2.3% from 7.2%) and for textiles, clothing & footwear (9.1% from 18.8%). On the other hand, inflation was steady for furniture & household equipment (at 3.6%) while prices rose faster for recreation & culture (4.3% from 3.6%) and for tobacco (2.7%from 1.3%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices went down 0.12%, after decreasing 0.31% decrease in December. Inflation Rate in the United Arab Emirates averaged 2.19 percent from 1990 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 12.30 percent in December of 2008 and a record low of -2.40 percent in January of 2019.
Inflation Rate in the United Arab Emirates is expected to be -1.80 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Inflation Rate in the United Arab Emirates to stand at -0.20 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United Arab Emirates Inflation Rate is projected to trend around 2.30 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.