The Ministry of Development Planning & Statistics (MDPS) have released the Consumer Price Index* (CPI) for the month of April, 2014.  The CPI of April, 2014 is estimated at 117.2, showing an increase of 0.2% compared to the CPI of March 2014, and 2.8% compared to the CPI of April 2013. The overall increase of 0.2% in CPI of April, 2014 when compared to CPI of March, 2014 is   the combined effect of the price rise in: “Rentals, Fuel & Energy*” and “Furniture, Textiles & Home Appliances” groups by 0.7% each; “Garments & Footwear” by 0.3%; Entertainment, Recreation & Culture“ by 0.5%; and “Transport and Communication“ by 0.1%; and the price fall of 0.4% each seen in “Food, Beverages & tobacco” and “Miscellaneous Goods & Services”. The figures (4) and (5) show the movement of monthly CPIs of “Food, Beverages and Tobacco” and “Rentals, Fuel and Energy” groups. The overall CPI of April, 2014, compared to the one of April 2013 has increased by 2.8%. The increase is observed in most of the groups: “Rentals, Fuel & Energy” by 6.3%, mainly in rentals of residential buildings, “Furniture, Textiles & Home Appliances” by 5.1%, “Garments and Footwear” by 4.0%, “Entertainment, Recreation & Culture” by 2.7%, “Transport and Communication” by 1.2% and “Food, Beverages & tobacco” by 0.6%. However, prices of “Miscellaneous goods & services” have declined by 1.8% due to the decrease of gold prices. Figure (1) shows the monthly and annual comparison for CPI of April 2014. The CPI of April 2014, excluding “Rentals, Fuel and Energy” group stands at 127.6, showing a slight increase of 0.1% compared to the index of March 2014 and 1.6% of the CPI of April, 2013. Figure (3) shows the index change rate. More detailed data on CPI is available on the ministry’s website: www.mdps.gov.qa and QALAM: www.qix.gov.qa Read more here