DOHA: Qatar’s inflation rate fell to 1.8 percent in December, the lowest mark in 2016, according to latest official figures. Qatar’s Statistics Authority released the December consumer price data, showing the inflation rate fell from 2 percent in November and from 2.7 percent in December 2015.
The figures showed that housing and utility costs, which account for 22 percent of the consumer basket, rose 1.1 percent from a year earlier while food and beverage costs, which account for nearly 13 percent, sank 3.2 percent. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Qatar’s real GDP growth is expected to moderate to about 2.7 percent in 2016 but is projected to reach 3.4 percent in 2017. In a new research note, the IMF said that during 2017–18, the Gulf state will see further subsidy cuts, increase in public fees, a moderate recovery in global commodity prices and the implementation of a VAT which will drive inflation, which is expected to moderate back to low levels over the medium term.
