Qatar inflation
jumps 1.2% in Jan
February 12, 2017
Rising transport and education costs pushed
Qatar's annual inflation to 1.2 percent in
January, according to a report released by
the Ministry of Development Planning &
Statistics (MDPS) on Sunday.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) that reached
108.3 points in January 2017, however,
remained stable month-on-month (m-o-m) basis
mainly on falling prices of clothing, food
and miscellaneous goods and services, the
MDPS said.
The transport sector saw its group index
surge 4.7 percent year-on-year in January
2017 due to rise in prices of petrol and
diesel. The transport sector index also
showed a monthly increase of 1.6 percent.
The education sector reported a 3 percent
increase in January on an annual basis,
while its index treaded a flat course m-o-m.
The recreation and culture segment saw its
index soar 2.8 percent and 0.7 percent on
y-o-y and m-o-m respectively.
The index of miscellaneous goods and
services witnessed a 1.7 percent surge in
January 2017 against the same month last
year, even as its index shrank 1.3 percent
against the previous month.
The furniture and household equipment sector
recorded a 1.3 percent expansion in January
2017 on annual basis; whereas its index was
down 0.2 percent compared to December last
year.
The housing, water, electricity and other
fuels group registered a 0.6 percent gain in
its index in January 2017 compared to the
same month last year and it was down 0.4
percent m-o-m.
Registering the biggest fall on annual
basis, the index of restaurants and hotels
shrank 2.7 percent in January 2017 compared
to the same month last year. The index was,
however, up 0.3 percent when compared with
the previous month.
The food and beverage sector saw its group
index decline 1.9 percent in January 2017 on
annual basis. On the m-o-m basis also the
index registered a fall 1.2 percent.
The clothing and footwear segment saw its
group index decline 1.3 percent y-o-y, while
it fell 1.7 percent on a monthly basis.
The health sector witnessed a fall of 0.2
percent y-o-y in January 2017, while the
index gained 0.5 percent m-o-m.
The communication segment saw its group
index fall by a meager 0.1 percent on annual
basis and remained flat when compared with
last month.
The tobacco segment stood unchanged both
annually and monthly in January this year.
The CPI of January, 2017 excluding housing,
water, electricity and other fuel group
stands at 106.3 points, showing an increase
by 0.1 percent when compared to the index of
December 2016, and a 1.3 percent when
compared to the CPI of January 2016.
FocusEconomics has said in its latest report
that Qatar's inflation will gradually
accelerate on the back of strengthening
economic activity.
Its consensus forecast panellists expect
Qatar's inflation to average 2.7 percent in
2017 and 3.1 percent in 2018.
In one of its earlier reports, Qatar
National Bank (QNB) has predicted that
Qatar's inflation will rise up to 4 percent
in 2017 as a result of strong domestic
demand.