Consumer prices in Abu Dhabi rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year in March, Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) said in a report. However, in a month-to-month comparison, the CPI increased by 0.3 per cent, the report said. Inflation remained stable at 1.3 per cent during the first quarter of the year as it was 1.3 per cent February and 1.2 per cent in January. In March, the consumer price index (CPI) reached 123.4 points from 122.0 points in the same period last year, the report said. The restaurants and hotels group accounted for 40.6 per cent of the overall increase, as prices of items in this group rose 11.4 per cent. The second biggest contributor to the overall increase in the CPI was the transport group, which surged 2.8 per cent, accounting for 25.1 per cent of the overall increase in the period. The prices of food and beverages group contributed 16.7 per cent of the net change in consumer prices during the quarter. The surge in this group resulted from increases in the prices of vegetables, which rose 13.5 per cent, food products prices went up 3.8 per cent, coffee, tea and cocoa were expensive by 5.7 per cent year-on-year. Prices of milk, cheese and eggs also rose 0.7 per cent along with bread and cereals which climbed 1.5 per cent in March. However, the prices of meat fell 3.7 per cent year-on-year, fish and seafood prices were down 12 per cent year-on-year, sugar, jam and honey decreased one per cent year-on-year. The prices of furnishings, household equipment and household maintenance grew by 2.5 per cent; contributing 11.4 per cent of the net increase in all expenditure groups, the SCAD report said. The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group slowed down the rise in consumer prices during the first three months of the year as its prices fell one per cent. Source: Khaleej Times