Qatar’s PPI Surges %1.03 in February

Doha: The Producer Price Index (PPI) of the Industrial sector recorded 114.39 points for February, an increase of 1.03 percent compared to the previous month and a decrease of 8.6 percent compared to February 2023. Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) has released the new Monthly PPI of the Industrial sector for February 2024 calculated based on 2018, with a relative weight of the main four industry sectors as follows: "Mining" (weight: 82.46 percent), "Manufacturing" (weight: 15.85 percent), "Electricity" (weight: 1.16 percent), and "Water" (weight: 0.53 percent). The PPI for February 2024 is estimated at 114.39 points showing an increase of 1.03 percent, when compared to the previous month's January 2024. On a Y-o-Y basis, the PPI of February 2024 showed a decrease of 8.60 percent when compared to the PPI of February 2023. In the mining and quarrying sector, The PPI of February 2024 for this sector showed an increase of 0.90 percent when compared with the PPI of January 2024, primarily due to the pric e increase in "Crude petroleum and natural gas" by 0.91 percent, no significant change in "Other mining and quarrying". PPI of Mining in February 2024, when compared with its counterpart in the previous year (February 2023), was a decrease of 9.18 percent due to the price decrease on "Crude petroleum and natural gas" by 9.19 percent, and "Other mining and quarrying" by 0.02 percent. In the Manufacturing sector, an increase of 1.95 percent was recorded in February 2024, when compared with the previous month's Manufacturing index (January 2024). The price increase is seen in: "Rubber and plastics products" by 9.16 percent, followed by "Refined petroleum products" by 3.58 percent, "Basic metals" by 3.30 percent, "Cement and other non-metallic mineral products" by 2.51 percent, "Chemicals and chemical products" by 0.90 percent, "Food products" by 0.71 percent and "Beverages" by 0.08 percent. The decreasing prices are noticed in "Printing and reproduction of recorded media" by 0.67 percent. Compared with the ind ex of counterpart in the previous year (February 2023), the "Manufacturing" PPI of February 2024 showed a decrease of 7.12 percent. The major groups that explain this price decrease are: "chemicals and chemical products" at 10.45 percent, followed by "Basic metals" at 4.76 percent, "Cement and other non-metallic mineral products" at 3.60 percent, "Refined Petroleum products" at 2.01 percent and "Printing and reproduction of recorded media" by 0.83 percent. However, the increasing prices are noticed in "Food products" by 3.79 percent followed by "Rubber and Plastics products" by 1.32 percent, and relative stability in "Beverages" by 0.01 percent. In the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sectors, the PPI of this group showed an increase of 0.46 percent compared to January 2024. Compared to the PPI of February 2023 Y-o-Y, the PPI of February 2024, showed an increase of 9.90 percent. In the water supply sector, the PPI of this group showed a decrease of 1.49 percent compared to January 2024. Compared to the PPI of February 2023 Y-o-Y, the PPI of February 2024, showed an increase of 3.72 percent. Source: Qatar News Agency