Qatar’s headline, core inflation remains relatively lower than many countries: IMF

Qatar’s headline, core inflation remains relatively lower than many countries: IMF

Qatar's headline and core inflation remains relatively lower than elsewhere mainly due to subsidies and caps on certain products, strengthening of the US dollar to which the riyal is pegged, IMF said in its latest regional outlook.

Headline inflation showed signs of peaking at the end of 2022, although it remains persistently high for emerging markets, Middle income countries and low income countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in the recent report.

Headline and core inflation in many oil-exporting countries (Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia) remain relatively lower than elsewhere — as subsidies and caps on certain products, the strengthening of the US dollar (to which many of the countries peg their currencies), and limited share of food in the consumer price index basket have helped to offset imported inflationary pressures — and appear to have peaked in the last months of 2022.

By contrast, headline inflation continued trending upward in most emerging markets, Middle income countries (Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, and Tunisia, but not Jordan because of its peg to the US dollar and temporary fuel subsidies), partly reflecting the impact of past exchange rate depreciation and persistently elevated food prices, but also broadening price pressures (including on services)