Qatar's Industrial Producer Price Index Increases in January

Doha, March 05 (QNA) - Overall Producer Price Index (PPI) of the Industrial sector for January, 2018 is estimated at 66.1 points showing an increase of 5.9 percent compared to the previous month of December 2017. On Y-o-Y basis, PPI of January, 2018 showed a rise of 18.7 percent when compared to the PPI of January 2017. Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) revealed that the PPI index covers goods relating to mining (weight: 72.7 percent), manufacturing (weight: 26.8 percent), and electricity and water (weight: 0.5 percent). The mining PPI of January, 2018 showed an increase of 7.6 percent when compared with PPI of December 2017, primarily due to the increase of prices of "Crude petroleum and natural gas" with 7.6 percent. PPI of January 2018, when compared with its counterpart in the previous year (January 2017), there has been a considerable increase of 19.9 percent. Manufacturing saw an increase of 3.1 percent has been recorded in January, 2018, when compared with the previous month's Manufacturing index ( December,2017). The prices increased are seen in: basic metals by 6.5 percent, basic chemicals by 5.1 percent, refined petroleum products and by 2.3 percent, cement and other non-metallic products by 0.6 percent. However, the decreasing prices are noticed in rubber and plastics products by 2.3 percent, grain mill and other products by 0.3 percent, no monthly change noticed in juices, dairy products, beverages, paper and paper products, other chemical products and fibers. Comparing with the index of counterpart in the previous year (January 2017), manufacturing PPI of January, 2018 showed a rise of 16.4 percent. the major groups which explain this price increase are refined petroleum products by 20.1 percent, followed by basic metals by 19.5 percent,basic chemicals by 10.1 percent, other chemical products and fibers by 5.0 percent, dairy products by 4.2 percent, paper and paper products by 4.0 percent, grain mill and other products by 1.4 percent, and juices by 0.7 percent. however, prices fall also noticed in cement and other non-metallic products by 4.5 percent, beverages by 1.0 percent rubber and plastics products by 0.8 percent. Electricity and water the PPI of this group showed a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to December 2017, resulting from a decreasing price seen in water by 9.1 percent, and an increasing in electricity by 2.0 percent. When compared, the PPI of January, 2018, to the PPI of January, 2017, showed an increase Y-o-Y of 3.0 percent, affected by a rise in electricity by 9.0 percent and a fall in water by 5.4 percent. (QNA)