The cost of everyday living in Qatar has gone up for the fourth consecutive month, fueled by increases in the price of rent, fuel, furniture and domestic appliances, new government statistics show.

The rise comes despite an apparent slowdown in price increases in March, with some groups that had previously shown a decrease or remained constant, like medical care and entertainment, going up again in April.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2014, released by the Ministry of Development and Planning Statistics this week, was 2.8 percent higher than the same month last year, and up 0.2 percent from March 2014.

What’s gone up

The “Rentals, Fuel & Energy” and “Furniture, Textiles & Home Appliances” groups increased marginally month-on-month (by 0.7 percent), but year-on-year, rents have increased by 6.3 percent, and furnishings by 5.1 percent.

Clothes and shoes are also driving the increase, with the cost of these essentials rising by 0.3 percent in one month, and 4 percent over the year.

The only items to go down in price last month were food and drink and “miscellaneous goods and services,” a category that typically includes items such as hairdressing, soap and cosmetics.

Here’s the breakdown:

Thoughts?