DOHA: Consumer price inflation rose 1.6 percent year-on-year in the country in July, fuelled by rising costs of education, eating out, transportation and house rents.
Official figures show the cost of education went up in double digits (by 11.1 percent) in the year.
Education has a weight of 5.75 percent in Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket.
It means that a household spends 5.75 percent of its consumption (expenses) on education of its children.
Tobacco prices went up by 6.3 percent in the year but its weight in CPI basket is 0.27 percent. So it may have hardly had an impact on overall inflation.
Eating out and hotels became 3.7 percent costlier in the year, with the cost of transport going up by 3.2 percent.
Restaurants and hotels as a single head of a household’s expenses, have a share of 6.08 percent in CPI basket — more than the share of education.
Transport, on the other hand, accounts for a larger percentage of CPI basket, at 14.59.
Housing, water, electricity and gas, which include house rent, as a single head of a family’s expenses, have the largest share in CPI basket — 21.89 percent.
The category showed a price rise of 2.3 percent. Since gas and utility costs remain almost unchanged, the increase may have mainly come from house rents.
CPI data released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics show items like clothing and footwear also became a little expensive year-on-year, with costs rising by 1.6 percent.
World food prices have generally been going down but in Qatar they rose, albeit by 0.9 percent year-on-year.
Items that became a little cheaper were recreation and culture, health and miscellaneous goods and services.
Monthly inflation (comparing July 2015 prices with those in June) was at 0.6 percent, with much of the price rise coming from recreation and culture, clothing and footwear and house rents. Food became marginally cheaper month-on-month. However, Food and beverages as a head of a family’s expenses have less weight in CPI basket (12.58 percent) than culture and recreation (12.68 percent).
The Peninsula
