Consumer Price Index in Qatar Sees 1.65 % Increase in December 2023 on Annual Basis

Doha, January 17 (QNA) - Qatar's Consumer Price Index (CPI) of December 2023 recorded an increase by 1.59 % on an annual basis, reaching 109.98 points, when compared to November 2023, and an increase of 1.65 % compared to the corresponding month, December 2022.
The Consumer Price Index which measures inflation includes 12 key groups of consumer goods that have a total of 737 commodities. It is calculated using the base year 2018 based on the data of the household income and expenditure survey 2017-2018.
According to a statement issued by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) Wednesday, the monthly increase on CPI of December 2023 was attributed to a rise in six groups: Recreation and Culture by 9.74%; Food and Beverages by 1.14 %; Transport by 0.75% %; Miscellaneous Goods and Services by 0.22 %; in addition to a slight and more stable increase in the groups of clothing and shoes, and furniture and household appliances, at 0.04 %for each.
On the other hand, there was a decrease in education by 0.26 %, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group by 0.08 %, while there was no change in the groups of tobacco, health, communications and restaurants and hotels.
When comparing December 2023 with the corresponding month in 2022, is due to an increase in six groups: the communications group by 16.63 %, the entertainment and culture group by 11.85 %, the education group by 6.45 %, the food and beverages group by 4.55 %, the goods and services group by 0.98 %, and the furniture and home appliances group by 0.54 %.
While the indices for the rest of the basket groups showed a decrease, as the Restaurants and Hotels group recorded a rate of 10.79 %, followed by the Clothes and Shoes group by 4.22 %, the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels group by 2.94 %, the Transportation group by 1.4 % and a slight decrease in the Health group by 0.06 %, while there was no change in the tobacco group.
The CPI of December 2023 excluding "Housing, Water, Electricity and other Fuel" group stands at 113.92 points recorded an increase by 1.98% when compared to the index of November 2023 by 2.74 % compared to the corresponding month in 2022. (QNA)