Qatar's industrial producers' earnings registered a 0.3% fall year-on-year in March 2019, despite robust hydrocarbons and utilities sectors, according to official estimates.
Qatar's producer price index (PPI) — a measure of the average selling prices received by the domestic producers for their output — reported a sharp 1.9% decline compared to that in February this year, said the figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA had released a new PPI series in late 2015. With a base of 2013, it draws on an updated sampling frame and new weights. The previous sampling frame dates from 2006, when the Qatari economy was much smaller than today and the range of products made domestically much narrower.
The PPI for mining, which carries the maximum weight of 72.7%, saw a 2.1% surge year-on-year in March 2019 on the back of 2.1% increase in the price of crude petroleum and natural gas and 1.1% in stone, sand and clay.
The mining PPI, however, tanked 3.6% on a monthly basis as crude petroleum and natural gas prices shrank 3.7% and stone, sand and clay by a marginal 0.2%.
The manufacturing sector, which has a weight of 26.8% in the PPI basket, witnessed a 5.6% yearly plunge this January on a 13.9% decline in the price of basic metals, 6.7% in basic chemicals, 4.2% in refined petroleum products, 3.7% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products and 0.2% in grain mill and other products.
Nevertheless, there was a 9% escalation in the price of other chemical products and fibres, 5.5% in juices, 2.8% in rubber and plastics products, 2.6% in paper and paper products, 1.7% in dairy products and 0.6% in beverages.
The manufacturing sector PPI however had seen a monthly 2.2% jump in January 2019 as the price of refinery petroleum products grew 3.8%, other chemicals products and fibres (1.6%) and rubber and plastics products (0.4%); even as that of cement and other non-metallic mineral products was down 0.8%, basic metals (0.4%), grain mill and other products (0.3%) and beverages (0.2%).
The utilities group, which has a mere 0.5% weightage in the PPI basket, saw its index shoot up 11.1% on yearly basis in March this year as water and electricity prices had risen 23.3% and 3.7% respectively.
The index had seen a 4.5% expansion month-on-month this March with the price of water and electricity rising 8.9% and 1.6% respectively.
The PSA had released a new PPI series in late 2015. With a base of 2013, it draws on an updated sampling frame and new weights. The previous sampling frame dates from 2006, when the Qatari economy was much smaller than today and the range of products made domestically much narrower.
The PPI for mining, which carries the maximum weight of 72.7%, saw a 2.1% surge year-on-year in March 2019 on the back of 2.1% increase in the price of crude petroleum and natural gas and 1.1% in stone, sand and clay.
The mining PPI, however, tanked 3.6% on a monthly basis as crude petroleum and natural gas prices shrank 3.7% and stone, sand and clay by a marginal 0.2%.
The manufacturing sector, which has a weight of 26.8% in the PPI basket, witnessed a 5.6% yearly plunge this January on a 13.9% decline in the price of basic metals, 6.7% in basic chemicals, 4.2% in refined petroleum products, 3.7% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products and 0.2% in grain mill and other products.
Nevertheless, there was a 9% escalation in the price of other chemical products and fibres, 5.5% in juices, 2.8% in rubber and plastics products, 2.6% in paper and paper products, 1.7% in dairy products and 0.6% in beverages.
The manufacturing sector PPI however had seen a monthly 2.2% jump in January 2019 as the price of refinery petroleum products grew 3.8%, other chemicals products and fibres (1.6%) and rubber and plastics products (0.4%); even as that of cement and other non-metallic mineral products was down 0.8%, basic metals (0.4%), grain mill and other products (0.3%) and beverages (0.2%).
The utilities group, which has a mere 0.5% weightage in the PPI basket, saw its index shoot up 11.1% on yearly basis in March this year as water and electricity prices had risen 23.3% and 3.7% respectively.
The index had seen a 4.5% expansion month-on-month this March with the price of water and electricity rising 8.9% and 1.6% respectively.