16-08-2020
Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority has issued its Consumer Price Index ‘CPI’ review for the month of July 2020. The CPI stood at 95.73 points recording a reduction by 0.23% vis-à-vis June 2020 and a year-on-year reduction by 3.41% vis-à-vis July 2019.
This revision of the CPI issued by the Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority is considered the seventh of its kind, based on the year 2018 as a benchmark year, and in view of the findings dragged from the family income and spending survey for the years 2017-2018. The CPI uses the classification of the individual consumption per purpose ‘CIOCOP’ in classifying the consumer commodities which comprises 12 primary groups starting from the food and non-alcoholic beverages and ending with commodities and various services where 737 commodities are listed under these groups.
In view of the relative needs of the base year 2018, we observe that the family’s living pattern has not been substantially varied over the past five years, and the relative needs between 2013 and 2018 are merely equal during the period and no changed is observed. The groups of food & beverages, housing, transportation, culture are still acquiring the tremendous importance amongst the consumer families.
Firstly: Monthly variance (July 2020 over June 2020)
Upon the comparison of the main constituents of the CPI for July 2020 with the former month June 2020, it is obvious that there is a reduction in six groups, and an increase in five groups, with one group remained unchanged.
The reduction took place in the: entertainment and culture group by 5.76%, garments and footwear group by 1.48%, housing, water & electricity and gas and other types of fuel groups by 1.27%, food & beverages group by 0.38%, health group by 0.21% and education group by 0.06% with no change taking place on the tobacco group.
Conversely, the increase took place in restaurants and hotels group by 4.69%, telecommunications group by 1.77%, transport by 1.35%, commodities and other services by 0.50% and furniture and house appliances by 0.47%.
Secondly: Annual variance (July 2020 over July 2019)
Upon the comparison of July 2020 with the counter month last year 2019 (annual variation), it is observed that a reduction in the general CPI took place by 3.41%. This is resulted from the reduction took place in five groups as follows: entertainment and culture group by 21.23%, housing, water & electricity, gas & other types of fuel groups by 4.86%, garments and footwear group by 4.37%, transportation group by 2.94%, telecom group by 0.81%, food and beverages group by 0.27%.
As for the annual increases, it took place in five groups being tobacco group by 8.37%, restaurants and hotels group by 4.29%, furniture and house appliances group by 1.26%, education group by 1.14% and commodities and other services by 1.0%.
Considering the CPI for July 2020 after excluding the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel types group, the index reached 96.68 point, recording a marginal increase by 0.04% on a monthly basis compared to preceding month June 2020 and 2.93% compared to July 2019.