Qatar residents will not be shocked to hear that the cost of living will continue to go up in the country as the rents for residential accommodations continue to rise rapidly.

Rents keep jumping unchecked, pushing yearly consumer inflation up to 3.6 percent in September this year.

Rents, clubbed with fuel and energy in the consumer price index (CPI) basket, went up 8.1 percent year-on-year in September.

Releasing the figures, the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics said the rent hike mainly pertained to residential accommodation.

Rent, energy and fuel account for 32 percent of household expenses. Yearly statistics until September reflect that none of the commodities and services that are part of the CPI basket became cheaper.

After rents, it were home appliances, furniture and textiles that became more costly, their prices going up by 5.2 percent.

Transport and communications became 2.7 percent more expensive while the rates of garments and footwear rose by a similar percentage.

Even food, whose prices have been going down the world over, became expensive here, albeit by just one percent. Food is clubbed with beverages and tobacco in the CPI basket.

The price rise in the case of health care and recreation was minimal — under one percent.

Prices have been stable month-on-month in September when compared to August, the Ministry’s figures show. [Source: The Peninsula]

Photo by Gary McGovern