Mubasher: Qatar's inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), rose 0.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2017, the Ministry of Development Planning & Statistics (MDPS) said in a report on Thursday. 

Inflation increased to 108.8 points in the last quarter of the year ended 31 December 2017 from 108.5 points in the same quarter a year earlier.

The report ascribed the year-on-year change in inflation to the net effect of increases in four main groups topped by the transport sector which jumped 7.8%, followed by the food, health and education with 5.3%, 3.6% and 0.8%, respectively.

On the flipside, the other six main groups witnessed a drop topped by the housing, water, electricity and gas segment, which declined 5.6%, the report highlighted.