Retail inflation in Qatar is seen hardening with consumer price index (CPI) rising 4.66% on an annualised basis in April, mainly due to higher expenses towards food, clothing, furniture, recreation and rents, according to official statistics.
The country's general price level, which rose 0.29% month-on-month, comes amidst an overall inflationary pressure in the global economy, which prompted the central banks to tighten their monetary policies, stoking fears of economic slowdown.
Qatar's core inflation grew faster than the general CPI inflation on a yearly basis but slower month-on-month in April 2022.
The core inflation (excluding housing and utilities) rose 4.88% and 0.14% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in April 2022.
A recent Qatar Economic Outlook suggested that Qatar is expected to see imported and domestic inflationary pressures due to the rise in prices of basic commodities in global markets caused by the bottlenecks in commodity supply chains as well as the negative repercussions of expansionary financial and monetary policies.
The index of housing, water, electricity and other fuels – with a weight of 21.17% in the CPI basket – saw 3.75% and 0.94% expansion on yearly and monthly basis respectively this April.
Miscellaneous goods and services, with a 5.65% weight, saw its index jump 5.49% and 1.66% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in April 2022.
The index of recreation and culture, which has an 11.13% weight in the CPI basket, zoomed 35.25% on a yearly basis but fell 0.19% month-on-month in April this year.
The food and beverages group, with a weight of 13.45% in the CPI basket, witnessed a 3.59% growth on a yearly basis but fell 0.83% on monthly basis in April 2022.
The index of clothing and footwear, which has a 5.58% weight in the CPI basket, was seen rising 2.44% and 1.28% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively this April.
In the case of furniture and household equipment, which has a 7.88% weight in the CPI basket, the index zoomed 1.4% and 1.21% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in April this year.
The index of transport, which has a 14.59% weight, was seen rising 0.15% year-on-year but shrank 0.45% on a monthly basis in April 2022.
The sector has the direct linkage to the dismantling of the administered prices in petrol and diesel as part of the government measures to lower the subsidies.
In April 2022, the retail price of super, premium gasoline and diesel witnessed a 27.27%, 8.11% and 20.598% surge year-on-year respectively. On a monthly basis, the price of super, premium and diesel was flat.
Education, with a 5.78% weight, saw its index jump 0.42% on a yearly basis but was unchanged month-on-month this April.
However, the index of health, which has a 2.65% weight, was seen plummeting 3.14% on a yearly basis. It was down 0.05% month-on-month in April 2022.
The restaurants and hotels group, with a 6.61% weight, declined 0.98% year-on-year but shot up 1.57% on a monthly basis this April.
Communication, which carries a 5.23% weight, saw its group index shrank 0.64% and 1.04% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in the review period.
The tobacco index, which has a 0.28% weight, was unchanged on yearly and monthly basis in the review period.
