Doha, March 17 (QNA) - Qatar's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to110.60 points in February 2026, marking an increase of 0.64% compared to January 2026 and a year-on-year rise of 2.51% compared with February 2025.

The index, which measures inflation, comprises 12 main groups covering 737 goods and services. It is calculated based on the 2018 base year, using data derived from the 2017-2018 Household Income and Expenditure Survey.

Data released by the National Planning Council attributed the monthly increase to rises in four categories, namely: "miscellaneous goods and services" group at 9.67 percent, the "clothing and footwear" group at 2.39 percent, the "food and beverages" group at 0.16 percent, and finally the "housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels" group at 0.32 percent.

As for recorded falls, they occurred in the "transport" group at 0.77 percent, followed by the "recreation and culture" group at 0.61 percent, the "restaurants and hotels" group at 0.26 percent, and finally the "communication" group at 0.08 percent. Meanwhile there were no changes observed in the "tobacco", "furniture and household equipment", "health" and "education" groups.

The annual increase, comparing February 2026 with the same month in 2025, was driven by rises in eight groups. The "miscellaneous goods and services" group increased by 21.16 percent, followed by the "recreation and culture" group at 4.92 percent, the "clothing and footwear" group at 4.16 percent, the "furniture and household equipment" group at 2.45 percent, the "food and beverages" group at 2.05 percent, the "education" group at 2.04 percent, the "housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels" group at 0.72 percent, and finally the "communication" group at 0.66 percent.

In contrast, the index recorded declines in three groups on an annual basis, these are: the "restaurants and hotels" group at 2 percent, followed by the "transport" group at 1.70 percent, and the "health" group at 1.38 percent, while no change was recorded in the "tobacco" group.

When calculating the CPI for February 2026 excluding the "housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels" group, the index reached 115.38 points, up by 0.71 percent compared with January 2026, and up by 2.91 percent compared with February 2025. (QNA)