Bahrain sees price drop in key sectors

TDT | Manama 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

New data from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has revealed that Bahrain experienced a notable decrease in prices for furniture, tobacco, communications, clothing, footwear, and transportation in 2023.

This trend aligns with varying degrees of price declines observed across other GCC countries.

According to the GCC Statistical Center, Bahrain saw a 0.3% drop in furniture and tobacco prices, while communications, clothing, footwear, and transportation prices fell by 0.5%.

These reductions come amid broader inflation trends in the region.

Overall, the GCC region’s housing costs experienced the highest inflation rate among member states in 2023, with housing inflation reaching 5.5%.

This was followed by inflation in the restaurants and hotels sector at 3.9%.

Culture and recreation costs increased by 3%, food and beverages by 2.3%, education by 1.8%, and healthcare by 0.8%. Inflation for goods and services stood at 0.2%.

Despite these sector-specific inflation rates, the GCC region’s overall inflation rate decreased to 2.2% in 2023, down from 3.1% in 2022.

This follows previous inflation rates of 2.4% in 2021 and 1.7% in 2020. The only year with negative inflation in the GCC was 2019, when it stood at -1.5%