Inflation rate in Oman reaches 0.62% by end of December 2023

Muscat: The annual inflation rate in the Sultanate of Oman reached 0.62 per cent by the end of December 2023 according to data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The inflation rate was driven by the increase in most main groups comprising the Consumer Price Index (CPI), including the food and non-alcoholic beverages group (2.91 per cent).

The food and non-alcoholic beverages main group’s rise was driven by the increases in the prices of fish and seafood (7.62 per cent), milk, cheese and egg (6.26 per cent), vegetables (6.21 per cent), food that is not identified under other categories (5.45 per cent), fruits (4.79 per cent), sugar, jam, honey and sweets (3.89 per cent), oils and fats (2.09 per cent), bread and grains (1.62 per cent) and non-alcoholic drinks (0.7 per cent). Meanwhile, the prices of meats went down by 1.36 per cent.

Moreover, several main groups also increased, such as the groups of personal goods and services by 3.35 per cent, tobacco by 2.41 per cent, culture and entertainment by 1.65 per cent, furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance by 1.56 per cent, health by 0.34 per cent, housing, water, electricity, gas and other types of fuel by 0.34 per cent and restaurants and hotels by 0.05 per cent.

Further, the prices of the following main groups went down: transport (2.65 per cent), education (0.41 per cent), clothes and footwear (0.25 per cent) and communications (0.24 per cent).

Compared to November 2023, the inflation rate decreased by 0.19 per cent. This is driven by the drop in the prices of transport (2.11 per cent), furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.06 per cent), restaurants and hotels (0.02 per cent).

Meanwhile, the following groups increased: miscellaneous goods and services (0.7 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.34 per cent), culture and entertainment (0.11 per cent) and clothes and footwear (0.01 per cent). Prices remained stable in other groups.

As far as governorates are considered, rises in the inflation rate were recorded as follows: the Governorate of North A’Sharqiyah (1.29 per cent), Dhofar (1.02 per cent), Al Dhahirah (0.78%), South Al Batinah (0.66 per cent), Al Buraimi (0.6 per cent), North Al Batinah (0.57 per cent), Muscat (0.55 per cent), Musandam (0.51 per cent), South A’Sharqiyah (0.49 per cent), A’Dakhiliyah (0.42 per cent) and Al Wusta (0.18 per cent).