DOHA: Higher rents, coupled with costly medical care and entertainment, are putting pressure on the cost of living in the country, consumer price index (CPI) figures released yesterday show.
CPI data for August 2013 show rents surged 6.9 percent year-on-year in the month, from 6.5 percent in July.
The CPI compared with that of August 2012 and shows an increase of 3.1 percent at the overall level.
Increases were recorded in all groups with the exception of “Miscellaneous goods & services”, where prices declined by 2.5 percent.
Major increases were recorded in the ‘entertainment, recreation and culture’ group where prices increased by 9.2 percent.
Medical care and services grew 2.5 percent. Food, beverages and tobacco became costlier by 1.6 percent as the “rent, fuel and energy group climbed 6.9 percent caused by the rising trend in the rentals of residential buildings.
The monthly inflation stayed at the level of 114.5 showing no change compared to the CPI of July 2013, data released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics suggest.
The month-on-month data shows increases in the prices of miscellaneous goods & services (0.70 percent), furniture, textiles and home appliance (0.5 percent) and rent, fuel and energy (0.3 percent), which were offset by decreases in the prices of transport and communications (0.5 percent) and food, beverages and tobacco (0.3 percent).
The Peninsula
