Doha, August 14 (QNA) – Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) has released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July 2012. The CPI for the month of July, 2012 was 111.1, showing an increase of 0.4% when compared to the CPI of June 2012 and, a 2.2% increase when compared to the CPI of July, 2011. A comparison with the CPI of June 2012, by major group, displays increases ranging between 0.1% and 1.5% in all the major groups with the exception of “Food, Beverages and Tobacco”, where prices were lower, by 0.4% and “Miscellaneous Goods and Services” which registered no change.
The highest increase was in the group “Furniture, Textiles and Home Appliances”, which rose by 1.5 %, followed by “Garments and Footwear” 0.6%, and “Transport and Communication” 0.6%, mostly explained by continued rise in airfare. “Rent, Fuel and Energy”, recorded an increase of 0.4%. This is the first increase after consecutive month-to month declines which started during the fourth quarter of 2008.
The 0.4% decline in “Food, Beverages & Tobacco is the result of the declaration issued by the Consumer Protection Department for the period ( Mid July- Mid Aug) which is Ramadan period.
A year-on-year comparison, comparing the CPI of July 2012 with that of July 2011 showed increases of 2.2% at the overall level. Increases were recorded in all the major groups, with the exception of “Rent, Fuel and Energy”, which registered a drop of 3.9%. The highest increases were recorded in the groups: “Furniture, Textiles and Home Appliances”, 7.1%; “Entertainment, Recreation and Culture”, 6.1%; “Garments and Footwear”, 4.8%; “Miscellaneous Goods and Services”.3.8%,”Food and Beverages”, 3.7% and “Transport & Communications”,3.7%.
A CPI exclusive of the Rent, Fuel and Energy group has also been calculated. After eliminating the effect of rent, the overall index reached 123.9, showing an increase of 0.3% compared to the CPI of June 2012, and an increase of 4.5 % when compared to the month of July 2011.(QNA)
