DOHA: Qatar’s inflation rate nudged up to 2.7 percent in October on year-on-year basis, mainly due to the rise of education services.
Increases were recorded in all the major groups.
The highest increases were recorded in “Entertainment, recreation and culture”, 5.7 percent. Miscellaneous goods and Services increased by 4.3 percent when compared to October 2011, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) noted. While the “food, beverages and tobacco” component rose to 4.1 percent on annual basis, “furniture, textiles and home appliances grew 3.1 percent during the period.
“Garments and footwear” and “Transport and communications” recorded 3.0 percent and 1.5 percent increase. “Medical care and medical services” grew by 1.0 percent.
A month-on-month comparison of CPI, October 2012 with September 2012, displays increases ranging between 0.4 and 4.5 percent in most major groups with the exception of “food, beverages and tobacco”, “furniture, textiles & home appliances” and “Transport and Communications”, where the prices declined by 0.8 percent.
The highest increases have been noticed in the group “entertainment, recreation and culture”, 4.5 percent mainly due to the rise of education services. “Garments and Footwear” group recorded 0.9 percent.
Both “Rent, fuel and energy” and “Medical care and medical services” groups saw 0.7 percent increase. “Miscellaneous goods and services” group saw 0.48 percent rise.
A CPI exclusive of the “rent, fuel and energy” group has also been calculated.
After eliminating the effect of rent, the overall index reached 125, showing an increase of 0.3 percent compared to the CPI of September, and an increase of 3.3 percent when compared to the month of October 2011.
The Peninsula
