DOHA: Qatar’s inflation rate rose to 2 percent in September 2012 compared to the same period last year. The high inflation rate was driven by price increases in all the major groups, with the exception of rent, fuel and energy, which registered a drop of 0.1 percent.
The highest increases were recorded in the “miscellaneious goods and services” group-4.1 percent. Food, beverages and tobacco saw a 3.6 percent hike while ‘furniture, textiles and home appliances’ saw 3.3 percent increase. The ‘transport and communication’ segment increased 3.1 percent.
The monthly consumer price index (CPI) released by Qatar Statistics Authority for the month of September 2012 saw an increase of 0.4 percent when compared to the CPI of August 2012. The month-on-month comparison by major groups show an increase ranging between 0.2 percent and 1.8 percent in most of the major groups with the exception of ‘transport and communications’, where prices declined by 1.2 percent due to the drop in the air-ticket fares by 13.8 percent, probably due to off-peak season.
The monthly comparison showed highest increase in the ‘ food, beverages and tobacco’ group-1.8 percent and ‘miscellaneous goods and services’ that showed an increase of 1.7 percent. Rent, fuel and energy group increased by 1.0 percent and ‘garments and footwear’ segment saw an increase of 0.3 percent in September compared to August.
A CPI exclusive of the ‘rent, fuel and energy’ group , after eliminating the rent effect, saw the overall index reaching 124.6, showing an increase of 0.2 percent compared to the CPI of August 2012, and an increase of 2.9 percent when compared to the month of 2011.
The Peninsula
