RIYADH: Qatar’s producer price index for its industrial sector registered an increase of 1.03 percent in February compared to the previous month.

However, according to data released by the country’s Planning and Statistics Authority, the country’s PPI saw a dip of 8.6 percent in relation to February 2023. 

The data suggested that the mining sector, with a dominant weightage of 82.46 percent in the index, played a pivotal role in the monthly growth. 

Specifically, the PPI for mining and quarrying increased by 0.9 percent compared to January, driven by a 0.91 percent rise in the production of crude petroleum and natural gas.  

However, on a yearly basis, the PPI for mining witnessed a 9.18 percent decrease, primarily due to a 9.19 percent decline in the prices of crude petroleum and natural gas. 

In the manufacturing sector, February recorded a 1.95 percent increase compared to January.  

Notable price hikes were observed in rubber and plastics products with 9.16 percent, refined petroleum products with 3.58 percent, and basic metals with 3.3 percent.

However, the overall manufacturing PPI exhibited a substantial 7.12 percent decrease compared to February 2023, with major contributors to this decline being chemicals and chemical products with 10.45 percent and basic metals with 4.76 percent.

The data for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply displayed a commendable 0.46 percent hike compared to January. On a year-on-year basis, the sector experienced a 9.9 percent growth. 

Conversely, water supply witnessed a 1.49 percent decrease compared to January. However, on a year-on-year basis, the sector exhibited a positive 3.72 percent increase. 

These figures underscore Qatar’s dynamic industrial sector, with the mining and electricity segments driving growth.

On the other hand, the aggregate exports of goods, comprising both domestic and re-exported items, reached approximately 28.2 billion Qatari riyals ($7.74 billion) in February.

This figure marked a decline of 9.2 percent from February 2023 and a decrease of 8.8 percent from January.

Conversely, goods imports in February amounted to around 10.1 billion riyals – a 24.8 percent decrease from January but a 24.6 percent rise compared to the same month in 2023.

During February, the foreign merchandise trade balance, depicting the variance between total exports and imports, displayed a surplus of nearly 18.1 billion riyals. 

This represented a decrease of approximately 4.8 billion riyals or 21.1 percent from February 2023 and an increase of almost 0.6 billion riyals or 3.4 percent from January of this year.

PSA oversees Qatar’s vision, collaborates on development strategies and ensures their implementation. It also prepares population policies, and supports government planning aligning development priorities with the state budget.

Additionally, the authority establishes a comprehensive statistical system, conducts censuses and surveys, and disseminates statistical data.