Dubai's inflation rate rises to 5.5% in August

Shopping basket

Dubai's inflation rate rose to 5.54% in August, with a 0.31% monthly increase compared to July.

The inflation rate is measured by the change in consumer prices between the current period and the same period a year earlier. Monthly gains or declines are measured against the preceding month.

The annual inflation increase in Dubai was driven by a lift in the transport segment, which saw the highest annual jump at 12.7%, due to a 31.3% surge in fuel and oil prices for personal transport equipment and a 23.2% increase in air transport.

The following table shows key changes across the main groups comprising the consumer price index for August 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
 

The housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel category carries the highest weight in the inflation calculation (and therefore has the greatest impact) at 40.7%, followed by the food and beverages sector at 11.7%, and then transport at 9.3%.  

The table below shows the relative importance of the main categories: