Dubai inflation edged up to 0.6 per cent year-on-year in March as the housing and utility costs, , rose 0.2 per cent after dropping 1.2 per cent in February, said a report.

The housing and utility costs account for almost 44 per cent of consumer expenses, the report from Dubai Statistics Center stated.

The clothing and footwear prices fell 3.1 per cent in March, but food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 1.1 per cent, the report added.

Analysts polled by Reuters in January forecast average inflation in the UAE would accelerate to 1.8 per cent in 2013 from 0.7 per cent in 2012, which was the lowest level since 1990.-Reuters