Qatar’s consumer price index (CPI) reached 108.28 points in April 2019 (base year 2013), an increase of 0.51 per cent compared to March 2019.
Meanwhile, compared to the CPI of April 2018, a decrease of 0.39 per cent has been recorded in the general index (CPI) of April, according to data released by the Planning and Statistics Authority on Tuesday.
An analysis on month-on-month (M-o-M) basis of CPI for April 2019 compared with March 2019, shows indices of seven main groups have increased, namely: “transport” by 3.22 per cent, “clothing and footwear” by 1.26 per cent, “restaurants and hotels” by 1.13 per cent, “communication” by 1.07 per cent, “health” by 0.69 per cent, “recreation and culture” by 0.59 per cent, and “furniture and household equipment” by 0.11 per cent. Meanwhile, a decrease in indices was observed in “food and beverages” by 1.42 per cent, “miscellaneous goods and services” by 0.82 per cent, and “housing, water, electricity and other fuel” by 0.34 per cent.
“Tobacco” and “ education” remained flat at the last months price level. On annual basis, a decrease has been recorded in CPI by 0.39 per cent. This price decrease is primary due to the decreasing prices seen in the five groups, namely: “communication” by 10.45 per cent, “recreation and culture” by 5.62 per cent, “housing, water, electricity and other fuel” by 2.68 per cent, “miscellaneous goods and services” by 1.06 per cent, and “food and beverages” by 0.67 per cent.
An increase in price levels was also recorded in seven groups, namely “tobacco” by 127.19 per cent, “education” by 9.25 per cent, “clothing and footwear” by 3.11 per cent, “transport” by 1.68 per cent, “furniture and household equipment” by 1.67 per cent, “health” by 0.83 per cent and “restaurants and hotels” by 0.45 per cent.