While the Qatari Planning and Statistics Authority noted widespread month-on-month PPI increases, economic activities, such as mining and quarrying, have witnessed a year-on-year decline.
Multiple industrial sectors within the Qatari economy saw increases in the producer price index (PPI) in February compared to January.
The Qatari Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) describe this indicator as a survey of the prices of domestic products. The authority uses the data from the survey to guide the adjective of prices for domestic products to accurately reflect changes in purchasing power.
The economic activities used to gauge the Qatari market performance include mining and quarrying activity, which also encompasses oil and gas excavations. Other components include Manufacturing, the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector and water desalination and purification.
PPI increase
The PSA found that the country’s general PPI of February 2024 increased by 1.03% when compared with January.
Within mining and quarrying, there was an increase of 0.90% increase compared to January’s PPI. The authority attributed this to an increase in the prices of crude petroleum and natural gas.
February also recorded a 1.95% PPI for manufacturing. This was due to a surge in the prices of rubber and plastic products, which increased by 9.16%.
Other goods within this economic activity that increased in price include refined petroleum products, basic metals, cement and other non-metallic mineral products, chemicals and chemical products, food and beverages as well as printing and reproduction media.
The PPI for Qatar’s electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply economic activities rose by 0.46% in February.
Year-on-year performance
Unlike the other economic activities, the PSA observed a 1.49% decrease in PPI within the water supply division compared to January 2024. However, the authority noted that in comparison to February 2023, the water supply showed a 3.72% PPI increase.
The electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply groups also showed an increase of 9.90%.
Meanwhile, in comparison to last February, the mining and quarrying PPI fell 9.18%. Another economic activity that has taken a year-on-year tumble is manufacturing, which has declined by 7.12% since last February.
