The annual inflation in Qatar, the world's biggest LPG exporter, edged down slightly to 2.6 per cent after a 2.7 per cent increase in the previous month and a 3.6 per cent jump over the previous year, said a report.

The rents and energy costs, which account for more than 32 per cent of consumer expenses, jumped 5.7 per cent from a year earlier in March and rose 0.6 per cent month-on-month, stated data released by Qatar's Statistics Authority .

Food, beverage and tobacco prices, which account for 13 per cent of the basket, rose one per cent year-on-year but fell 0.2 per cent from a month earlier.

The analysts polled by Reuters in January expected the world's No.1 liquefied natural gas exporter to see average inflation of 3.9 per cent in 2014 and 4.2 per cent in 2015, after 3.1 per cent in 2013.-Reuters