The overall Monthly Producer Price Index (PPI) of Qatar’s industrial sector for November 2019 was estimated at 62.2 points, showing an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the previous month’s PPI (October, 2019), according to official data released by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).
When compared on year-on-year basis, the PPI of November, 2019 showed a decrease of 14 percent against the PPI of corresponding month last year (November 2018).
The Producer Price Index (PPI) of the industrial sector was estimated on base year prices of 2013. Producer price index covers goods relating to “Mining” (weight: 72.7 percent), “Manufacturing” (weight: 26.8 percent), and “Electricity & Water” (weight: 0.5 percent).
The Mining sector’s PPI of November, 2019 showed an increase by 6.3 percent when compared with PPI of October 2019, primarily due to the increase of “Crude petroleum and natural gas” prices by 6.3 percent. PPI of November 2019, when compared with its counterpart in previous year (November 2018), there has been a decrease of 14.0 percent.
In the Manufacturing sector index, an increase of 1 percent was recorded in November 2019, when compared with the previous month’s Manufacturing index (October, 2019). The prices increase were seen in: “Refined Petroleum products” by 3 percent followed by “Juices”, and “Grain mill and Other products” by 0.1 percent each. However, the decreasing prices are noticed in: “Basic Metals” by 4.5 percent, followed by “Basic Chemicals” by 2.3 percent, “Dairy products” by 1.6 percent, “Beverages” by 1.0 percent, and “Cement and Other non-metallic products” by 0.3 percent. No changes noticed in “Paper and Paper products”, “Other chemical products and fibers”, and “Rubber and Plastics products”.
When compared with the previous year’s (November 2018) index, the “Manufacturing” PPI of November 2019 showed a decrease of 14 percent. The major groups which explain this price fall were: “Basic chemicals” by 17.5 percent, “Refined Petroleum products” by 14.4 percent, “Basic Metals” by 12.5 percent, “Cement and Other non-metallic products” 2.0 percent, “Other chemical products and fibers” by 0.2 percent, and “Grain mill and Other products” by 0.1 percent.
However, prices increased in “Juices” by 3.2 percent, followed by “Paper and Paper Products” by 2.6 percent, “Rubber and Plastics products” by 0.7 percent, “Beverages” by 0.6 percent, and “Dairy products” by 0.2 percent.
The PPI of Electricity and Water Group showed an increase of 5.1 percent compared to October 2019, resulting from the increasing in “Electricity” by 15.6 percent, and decreasing in “Water” by 5.8 percent.
When compared the PPI of November, 2019, to the PPI of November, 2018 (Y-o-Y), showed an increase of 1 percent, affected by prices rise in “Water” by 2.0 percent, and “Electricity” by 0.4 percent.
