Qatar witnessed 1% year-on-year (y-o-y) expansion in machinery and equipment index (MEPI) during in the second half (H2) of 2018 on the back of higher prices for medical appliances, radio and television and office accounting and computing machinery, according to official figures.
The MEPI, a short-term indicator that is calculated semi-annually, grew 1.1% when compared to that in the first half (H1) of 2018, the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The MEPI – with 2012 as the base year – is used by national accounts as a deflator to calculate the constant price estimates of purchases on final demand from machinery and equipment and in calculating the capital formation estimates.
Under the indicator; office, accounting and computing machinery group carries the maximum weight of 41.45%; followed by transport equipment (28.34%), special purpose machines (22.78%) and machinery and electrical appliances (7.43%).
The index of radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus expanded 3.8% year-on-year and 4.4% against the first half (H1) of 2018.
The index of medical appliances, precision and optical instruments, watches and clocks registered 3.3% growth on yearly basis and against H1 2018 respectively.
The index of office, accounting and computing machinery soared 2.9% year-on-year and 2.4% against the H1 of 2018.
The transport equipment index grew 0.6% compared to H2, 2017 and 0.8% against the first half 2018; and that of special-purpose machines was up 0.2% and 0.5% respectively.
The index of musical instruments plummeted 4.2% year-on-year and 3.6% compared to H1, 2018; and in the case of metal tools and tools, it was 4.1% and 3.8% respectively and it was 2% each in the case of general purpose machines.
The index of machinery and electrical appliances showed a 0.5% decline year-on-year; whereas it registered 0.4% jump compared to the first half of 2018.
