Inflation continues to drop in the country due to a decline in rents, January data released by Qatar Statistics Authority reveal.
The continuing decline in rents, which has the largest weight in the basket – 32%, helped Qatar’s inflation drop 0.2% in January, the eighth monthly fall in a row.
Statistics Authority said food prices remained flat while transport prices, the second largest component, rose 0.3% month-on-month.
Consumer price index (CPI) stood at 121.19 last month, down 5.65% from the beginning of 2009. CPI stood at 121.5 points in December compared with 121.8 in November.
The index has been showing a downward trend since early 2009, following a period of high inflation in 2008.
The consumer price index (CPI) is a measure estimating the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The percent change in the CPI is a measure estimating inflation.
Consumer prices in Qatar, the world’s largest natural gas exporter, fell 4.9% last year, marking its first full-year of deflation since 1993, after price growth peaked at record 15.2% in 2008.
The global financial crisis slashed consumer prices across the Gulf region last year from 2008 record peaks, with some oil producing countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates booking deflation in 2009.
A recent study by a leading real estate agency indicated prices and rental rates declined about 25% in Qatar last year. In December alone, apartment rental rates declined up to 10% in some areas.
Consumer prices in the cash-rich state are expected to rise this year helped by food prices, but inflation should stay at low single-digit levels although Qatar’s economy should largely outperform the fellow Gulf Arab oil producers, Reuters said.
Qatar is expected to show inflation of 3.5% this year, a Reuters’ poll showed.
With all the 14 LNG production trains in operation this year, Qatar’s economy is expected to grow by 16% in 2010. Qatar’s LNG export capacity will increase to 77mn this year.
http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=348570&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
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