Inflation is likely to start declining from the second half of 2006, said the Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce, Sheikh Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Thani. According to a recent banking report, cited by the Peninsula, the increase in inflation in recent years was a result of sustained rise in housing costs. The main inflation driver for the first half of 2005 was the housing sector, which rose by 28.45 per cent.
Al Bawaba