Qatar's inflation edged up to 1.7 per cent on an annual basis in May, matching its level from March, data from the Gulf  country's statistics authority showed.

The consumer prices were 0.2 per cent higher month-on-month in May after a 0.1 per cent rise in April, helped by increases in food and transport costs, the Qatar statistics authority data said.

The world's top liquefied natural gas exporter, spared by the popular unrest sweeping the Arab world, returned to annual inflation last December after a protracted period of deflation as its economy powers ahead at a double-digit clip.

Qatar plans to spend over $125 billion in the next five years on construction and energy projects and the Opec member's economy should keep growing strongly.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected average inflation of 3.2 per cent in 2011. Average deflation in Qatar reached 2.4 per cent in 2010, less than 4.9 per cent in 2009, which was the first full-year deflation since 1993.

Finance Minister Youssef Kamal said in January that inflation in Qatar will be between zero and 1 per cent in 2011.-Reuters