The cost of gas in Dubai increased by almost a quarter in December, hurting consumers already struggling with the rising inflation.

Both Emirates Gas and Emarat, two of Dubai’s biggest gas suppliers, announced price increases of 24 per cent, citing their inability to further absorb rising international prices as the reason for the adjustment.
“There has been a continuous increase in the price of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) gas procured by us at international prices in the last few months and this has now reached unprecedented levels,” the two companies said in a joint statement.
“We have absorbed this increase as much as possible but now have no alternative but to revise the price.”
The new prices, which will come into effect immediately, see the cost of a 44-kg cylinder rise from Dh143 ($38.9) to Dh187, a 22-kg cylinder from Dh76 to Dh92, and 11-kg cylinder from Dh43 to Dh53.
Residents of Dubai have seen the cost of gas shoot up by a third in the past six months while those in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah have seen the price of gas jump by 10 per cent.
The price of consumer goods across the board have been steadily increasing over the last year, driven by petrodollar liquidity injections into the economy, the dirham’s currency peg to the flailing greenback and breakneck gross domestic product (GDP) growth around the region.
Government agencies in the UAE have responded to record inflation, which currently stands at 9.3 per cent by increasing the salaries and pensions of public sector employees by 70 per cent.
Prices, however, continue to skyrocket with supply chains reportedly disobeying strict warnings from the government not to raise their prices beyond “reasonable” levels.
Residents in Sharjah, Ajman and in Dubai have complained about basic goods such as bread, milk and eggs jumping by as much as a third after the government announced the 70 per cent pay rise last month.
Municipalities across the Emirates have introduced tighter regulatory measures for anyone found hiking prices unnecessarily with grocery stores in some districts required to retain daily transaction receipts for random cost checks by authorities.