House rents, which rose 5.7 percent during the period and make up 87.7 percent of the total weight of the price basket, played a major role in the overall price hike, according to the Abu Dhabi Statistics Center.

The next highest contributor to the overall year-over-year increase in the consumer price index (CPI) over the first seven months of 2010 was the food and non-alcoholic beverages group.

The sector accounted for 30.2 percent of the rise in the index due to increases in the prices of most of the subgroups such as sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, which surged 35.4 percent, the report said.

Expenses for education accounted for 22.1 percent of the overall increase during the first seven months of 2010, reflecting a surge of more the 20 percent.

In food sector, meat prices grew by 11.2 percent, vegetables by 9.1 percent, fish and seafood by 4.7 percent, coffee, tea and cocoa by 2.7 percent and fruits by 1.8 percent.

According to the report, consumer prices for national households rose by 1.93 percent, compared to 3.46 percent for non-national households and 1.63 percent for collective households.

The transport sector of the emirate contributed 11.4 percent to the year-over-year rise in consumer prices for the period as a result of an increase of 3.2 percent in its component subgroups.

While the transport services advanced 4.8 percent, the charges for transportation grew by 3.9 percent due to a rise in the spare parts by 1.6 percent, in addition to an increase of 6.5 percent in the prices of fuels, oils and lubricants.

"An increase in the CPI does not necessarily imply higher prices for all the goods and services that make up the consumer basket, nor does it mean that all goods and services have increased by the same percentage," clarified the Statistics Center. 

The prices of the bread and cereals declined by 9.2 percent; oils and fats by 6.1 percent; milk, cheese and eggs by 1.8 percent; and mineral waters, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices by 0.5 percent, it added.

Sectors such as clothing and footwear detracted 29.1 percent from the overall rise in consumer prices during the period.

Similarly communications sector recorded a drop of 16.9 percent from the overall increase owing to the drop in prices of the telephone and telefax equipment and their services by 12.7 percent and 6.4 percent respectively.

In July, Abu Dhabi saw a year-over-year rise in the CPI at 2.75 percent and the month-to-month rise compared to June 2010 was 0.4 percent, the Statistics Center said.

Inflation in Dubai, meanwhile, slowed to 0.4 percent in July in the wake of a continued slide in rents, a major component of the living cost index. The cost of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels on year-on-year basis declined 1.9 percent, the highest since April.