The Warsan
Economics

Qatar’s cost of living declines 0.84% year-on-year in October

Planning and Statistics Authority
*The country also witnessed a 0.83% decline in inflation on monthly basis, shows figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority
Qatar’s cost of living, based on consumer price index (CPI) inflation, declined 0.84% year-on-year in October 2019 mainly on fall in the indices of clothing, recreation, transport and food and beverages, according to the official statistics.
The country also witnessed a 0.83% decline in inflation on monthly basis, said the figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).
The International Monetary Fund, in its latest Article IV consultation with Qatar, said inflation is projected to peak at 3.7% in 2020 with the introduction of a value added tax, but converge to 2% in the medium term.
The index of Clothing and Footwear, which has 5.11% weightage in the CPI basket, plummeted 3.95% and 0.16% on yearly and monthly basis respectively in October 2019.
The index of Recreation and Culture, which have 12.68% weightage in the CPI basket, saw a 3.83% plunge year-on-year and 2.6% month-on-month this October.
The index of Transport, which has 14.59% weightage, tanked 2.03% and 1.92% respectively on yearly and monthly basis in October 2019. The sector has the direct linkage to the dismantling of administered prices in petrol and diesel.
The index of Housing, water, electricity and other fuels – with a weight of 21.89% in the CPI basket – saw a 1.9% and 0.26% decline year-on-year and month-on-month respectively this October
The CPI of October 2019 excluding “housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, declined 0.55% and 0.98% respectively.
Food and beverages, which has a weight of 12.58% in the CPI basket, witnessed a 1.13% and 1.02% growth year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in October 2019.
Communication, which carries 5.87% weight, saw its group index shrank 0.11% on yearly basis and 0.74% month-on-month this October.
The index of health, which carries 1.79% weightage, was down .07% on a yearly basis, even as it registered a 0.11% jump month-on-month in October 2019.
However, the index of Tobacco, which has 0.27% weight and was flat on a monthly basis, had more than doubled year-on-year with the government substantially hiking excise tax on cigarettes from January this year.
Miscellaneous Goods and Services, which have 5.69% weightage, saw its index surge 3.38% year-on-year but it was down 0.71% on a monthly basis in October this year.
The index of Restaurants and Hotels, which have 6.08% weight, soared 1.54% and 0.63% on yearly and monthly basis respectively in October 2019.
Education, with 5.75% weightage, also saw its index tread a flat course on a monthly basis but registered 0.93% growth on a yearly basis.
In the case of Furniture and household equipment, which have 7.7% weightage in the CPI basket, it was up 0.04% month-on-month and 0.25% on a yearly basis this October
Via Gulf Times

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