Qatar consumer price index up 0.2% in August

Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) has released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August 2011. Some slight changes have occurred to some components of the CPI for July 2011. The CPI for August 2011 reached 108.91 showing an increase by 0.2 % when compared to July 2011, and an increase of 2.1%, when compared with August 2010. Comparison of the CPI of August 2011 to that of July 2011, shows that the overall 0.2% was the net effect of increases in some major groups and drops in some others as follows: The group Garments and Footwear recorded a rise of 3.5% following the end of summer sales, and the group Miscellaneous Goods and Services, has witnessed a rise of 2.5%, mainly attributed to the rise in the price of gold jewelry. Those increases were partly offset by the drop of 1.8% in the index of Food, beverages & tobacco, as a result of the decision taken by the Department of Consumer Protection to reduce prices during Ramadan, and a 0.5% drop in Rent. Comparison of the CPI of August 2011 to that of July 2011, shows that the overall 0.2% was the net effect of increases in some major groups and drops in some others as follows: The group Garments and Footwear recorded a rise of 3.5% following the end of summer sales, and the group Miscellaneous Goods and Services, has witnessed a rise of 2.5%, mainly attributed to the rise in the price of gold jewelry. Those increases were partly offset by the drop of 1.8% in the index of Food, beverages & tobacco, as a result of the decision taken by the Department of Consumer Protection to reduce prices during Ramadan, and a 0.5% drop in Rent. Compared to the CPI of August 2010, the analysis by major group level shows increases ranging from 1.9% and 7.7% in the prices of Miscellaneous Goods and Services, by 7.7%, Garments and Footwear, by 7.6%, Transport and Communications, by 6.7%, and Food , beverages & tobacco, by 3.4%. Prices in the group of Rent were 3.6% lower. A CPI exclusive of the Rent group has also been calculated. After eliminating the effect of rent, the overall index shows an increase of 0.4% compared to that of July 2011, and an increase of 4.4 % when compared to the month of August 2010.