RIYADH: Qatar’s consumer price index reached 108.09 points, marking a 2.52 percent increase compared to the same month in 2022, according to the latest data released by the Qatari Planning and Statistics Authority.
This surge was driven by communication prices which experienced a 14.50 percent increase compared to the same month last year, leading in six out of the 12 CPI categories.
Following closely were increases in recreation and culture at 11.18 percent, education at 6.72 percent, and food and beverage at 3.86 percent, the data showed.
However, housing, water, electricity, and other fuel prices declined by 2.41 percent, followed by restaurants and hotels at 2.35 percent, and clothing and footwear at 1.35 percent.
On a month-on-month basis, the CPI registered a 1.08 percent increase in October compared to September.
The monthly changes saw four categories declining, six increasing, and two remaining unchanged.
Recreation and culture prices led to monthly increases at 10.27 percent, followed by a 2.83 percent increase in restaurants and hotels, and a 0.18 percent rise in communication prices.
Furniture and household equipment prices fell by 2.08 percent, clothing and footwear dipped by 0.84 percent, while tobacco and education prices remained unchanged from the previous month.
Jordan’s October CPI up by 1.36%
Meanwhile, Jordan’s statistics department reported a 1.36 percent rise in CPI for October compared to the same month last year, with a slight 0.08 percent increase from September.
The cumulative CPI for the first 10 months of this year saw a rise of 2.21 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
Categories such as vegetables, dry and canned legumes witnessed a 3.3 percent month-on-month increase in October. Additionally, there were marginal upticks of 2.72 percent in fruits and nuts.
The other categories that saw slight increases were dairy products and eggs, transportation, fuel and lighting.
As per Trading Economics, the inflation rate in Jordan averaged 4.89 percent from 1977 until 2023, peaking at an all-time high of 37.50 percent in August 1989 and experiencing a record decline of 4.54 percent in December 1983.
