Qatar consumer prices rise 0.71% in July on rebased index

Summary

• Qatar's CPI hit 102.78 points in July 2026, up 0.71% from June.
• The release is the first under a new 2024 base year, replacing 2018.
• Recreation prices jumped 9.15% while housing and utilities fell 0.64%.

The latest

Consumer prices in Qatar rose 0.71% month-on-month in July 2026, with the index reaching 102.78 points under a rebased 2024=100 series. The National Planning Council said the reading reflects relative stability in the overall price level despite regional conditions weighing on transportation, insurance and logistics costs in global markets.

Details

• The headline number: The Council put the July 2026 CPI at 102.78 points, a 0.71% increase on June 2026. The figure is the first published under the rebased series, so it is not directly comparable with readings issued on the previous 2018 base year.
• The methodology change: According to the Council, the release incorporates an enhanced CPI methodology intended to improve the quality and reliability of price statistics in line with international best practices. The base year moves from 2018 to 2024, resetting the index level at 100 for the new reference period.
• The new basket: The updated methodology adopts the 2018 Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose, known as COICOP 2018, and introduces a revised basket of goods and services with updated expenditure weights. Those weights are drawn from the 2023/2024 Household Income and Expenditure Survey.
• What rose: Eight of the index groups recorded monthly increases. Recreation, sport and culture led with a 9.15% jump, followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 1.35% and health at 1.23%. The Council did not attribute the recreation spike to a specific driver.
• What fell: Three groups declined on the month: housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, down 0.64%; clothing and footwear, down 0.39%; and information and communication, down 0.19%. The decline in the housing and utilities group ran against the broader direction of the index.
• What held steady: Prices in the tobacco and beverages group and in the insurance and financial services group were unchanged compared with June 2026, according to the Council's statement.
• Stripping out housing: Excluding the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group, the index stood at 104.66 points in July 2026, up 1.22% on the month. That is nearly double the headline rate, indicating the housing and utilities component pulled the overall figure down.
• The external framing: The Council linked its stability assessment to regional conditions affecting transportation, insurance and logistics costs across global markets. The statement did not quantify how much those pressures fed into the July reading, nor did it name the regional conditions involved.

Background

Statistical agencies rebase price indices periodically so the basket and weights reflect current household spending rather than patterns from years earlier. Qatar's shift from 2018 to 2024 captures consumption changes recorded in the 2023/2024 Household Income and Expenditure Survey.

Between the lines

The gap between the headline 0.71% and the 1.22% excluding housing and utilities is the most informative number in the release. With eight groups rising and recreation up 9.15%, underlying consumer price pressure is running ahead of what the headline conveys, held back by a single declining group that carries heavy weight in the basket.

What's next

Watch the August 2026 CPI, the first month-on-month comparison with both readings on the 2024 base, and whether the 9.15% recreation increase proves seasonal or persists into subsequent releases.

Source: ZAWYA / The Peninsula, citing Qatar's National Planning Council