Qatar's industrial producers' price index increases in July 2024: NPC

Qatar's producers' price index (PPI), which measures the average changes in prices received by domestic producers for their output, zoomed 7.19% year-on-year this July on surge in the index of hydrocarbons and certain manufactured products such as rubber and plastics, refined petroleum products, and cement, according to the official estimates.The country's PPI was up 0.6% month-on-month in the review period, mainly due to increase in the indices of refined petroleum products and cement, said the figures released by the National Planning Council (NPC).The PPI measures inflation from the perspective of costs to industry or producers of products as it measures price changes before they reach consumers. The NPC had released a new PPI series in late 2015. With a base of 2013, it draws on an updated sampling frame and new weights.The previous sampling frame dates from 2006, when the Qatari economy was much smaller than today and the range of products made domestically much narrower.The mining PPI, which carries the maximum weight of 82.46%, reported a 7.55% increase year-on-year in July 2024 owing to a 7.57% jump in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and 0.04% in index of other mining and quarrying.The mining sector reported a 0.6% rise on a monthly basis in July 2024 on a 0.6% expansion in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and 0.6% in other mining and quarrying.The manufacturing sector PPI, which has a weight of 15.85% in the basket, shot up 5.52% year-on-year in July 2024 on account of 19.97% expansion in the index of rubber and plastics products, 7.3% in refined petroleum products, 5.97% in chemicals and chemical products, 5.15% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products, 2.37% in beverages and 2.17% in food products.Nevertheless, there was 1.51% shrinkage in the index of basic metals and 0.49% in printing and reproduction of recorded media in the review period.The manufacturing sector had seen a 0.78% month-on-month growth this July on 2.08% increase in the index of refined petroleum products, 1.95% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products, 0.52% in rubber and plastics, 0.51% in basic metals and 0.36% in chemicals and chemical products; even as there was a 0.16% decline in the index of printing and reproduction of recorded media.The index of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply reported 0.04% and 2.45% contraction year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in July 2024.The index of water supply was seen gaining 10.12% and 3% on annualised and monthly basis respectively in the review period.