In the GCC, inflation has also been exacerbated by two other factors: A falling dollar driving up imported inflation and “temporary” supply scarcity driving up food, commodity, property and rental prices. Inflation is a natural product of the liquidity-driven economic boom that the GCC is currently enjoying.
Recent reports put consumer-price inflation at around 14 percent in Qatar and 11 percent in the United Arab Emirates. “We expect the numbers to remain high this year as well (12 percent in Qatar, 9 percent in the UAE),” Al-Khaliji report said. This compares with average inflation rates below 5 per cent until five years ago.
