DOHA: Qatar’s month-on-month inflation (CPI) for December, 2014 has declined by 0.3 percent compared to the CPI of November, 2014, data released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics revealed yesterday.
However, on year-on-year basis, the overall CPI (inflation) of December, 2014 has increased by 2.7 percent compared to the CPI of December, 2013.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for December 2014, prices of various goods and services in all major groups have either remained flat or declined by varying degrees compared to prices in the previous month.
The CPI of December, 2014 was estimated at 118.6, showing a marginal decrease of 0.3 percent, when compared to the CPI of November 2014, and an increase by 2.7 percent in comparison to the CPI of December 2013.
The decline of CPI of December, 2014 was attributed to the price falls recorded in “Food, Beverages and Tobacco” by 0.4 percent; “Garments and Footwear” by 0.1 percent; “Furniture, Textiles and Home Appliances” by 0.3 percent; “Transport and Communication” by 0.5 percent; and “Entertainment, Recreation and Culture” by one percent.
However, the price indices of “Rentals, Fuel and Energy”, “Medical care”, and “Miscellaneous Goods and Services” remained stable at the previous month’s level.
On year-on-year basis, the price increases were observed in all of the groups except “Food, Beverages and tobacco” where the index showed a decline of 0.4 percent. Price increases have been registered in “Garments and Footwear” by 2.6 percent, “Rentals, Fuel and Energy” by 7.3 percent, mainly due to hikes in rentals of residential buildings; “Furniture, Textiles and Home Appliances” by 3.6 percent; “Medical care” by 0.8 percent; “Transport and Communication” by 1.2; “Entertainment, Recreation and Culture” and “Miscellaneous Goods and Services” by 0.4 percent each.
The CPI of December 2014, excluding “Rentals, Fuel and Energy” group stood at 127.9, showing a decrease of 0.4 percent compared to the index of November 2014 and an increase of one percent in comparison to the CPI of December, 2013.
The Peninsula
