Arab states' sanctions boost food prices, hurt real estate in Qatar in July

Sanctions imposed by other Arab states are continuing to push up food prices in Qatar while hurting the real estate market, but not to the point of damaging the economy severely, according to inflation figures released by the government on Tuesday.

The annual inflation rate fell back sharply to 0.2 per cent in July. It had spiked to 0.8 per cent in June from 0.1 per cent in May after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

By closing Qatar's land border with Saudi Arabia and disrupting maritime shipping routes, the sanctions slashed Qatari imports by more than a third in June, pushed up prices of some basic goods and hurt business sentiment in Doha.

There were fresh signs of that damage in the July inflation numbers. Food and beverage prices climbed 4.5 per cent from a year earlier - their fastest rate of increase since at least 2014, and accelerating from a rise of 2.4 per cent in June.
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