Qatar: Inflation Rate Hits 1.8 in December 2016

January 12, 2017

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of December 2016 stood at 108.3, a decrease of 0.3 percent in month-on-month basis when compared to that of November 2016 and surging by 1.8 percent compared to December 2015, the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) said in a press release issued Wednesday.

An analysis on month-on-month basis of CPI for December 2016 compared with November 2016 shows that respective indices have decreased in six main groups, namely: recreation and culture by 1.5 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 1.3 percent, food and beverages and clothing and footwear by 0.9 percent each, furniture and household equipment and restaurants and hotels by 0.1 percent each. An increase in prices is also noticed in transport by 0.6 percent, and housing, water, electricity and other fuel by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the groups of tobacco, health, communication, and education have remained flat at the previous month's price level.

A comparison of the CPI of December 2016 with that of December 2015 points to a rise in the general index (CPI) by 1.8 percent. This year-on-year price surge is primarily due to the increasing prices seen in the eight groups of transport by 6.2 percent; recreation and culture by 3.9 percent; education by 3 percent; miscellaneous goods and services by 2.8 percent; furniture and household equipment by 2.4 percent; clothing and footwear by 1.7 percent; housing, water, electricity and other fuel by 1.1 percent; and communication by 0.1 percent.

There has also been a decrease in price levels in three groups, namely: food and beverages by 3.2 percent, restaurants and hotels by 1.8 percent, and health by 0.8 percent. For tobacco group, there no changes were recorded.

The CPI of December 2016 excluding the group of housing, water, electricity and other fuel stands at 106.2, showing a decrease by 0.4 percent when compared to the index of November 2016, and an increase of 2 percent when compared to the CPI of December 2015