Inflation in Oman rises to 1.85% on higher transport costs

Muscat: Oman’s consumer-price inflation stood at 1.85 per cent in November, following a 10.2 per cent rise in prices in the transport basket, according to a recent bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The food and non-alcoholic beverages segment, however, saw a price decline of 1.25 per cent, contributed by a price decline of 1.13 per cent in bread and cereals, 1.99 per cent in milk, cheese and eggs, and 0.37 per cent in oils and fat subsets, along with a drop of 2.96 per cent in fruits, and 10.41 per cent in vegetables.
However, meat, as well as fish and seafood, reported a price rise of 0.52 per cent and 6.12 per cent, respectively. Also, sugar, jam, honey and confectionary groups showed a price increase of 0.35 per cent, while non-alcoholic beverages sustained a price rise of 0.81 per cent in November, compared with the same month in 2015.
Further, prices of tobacco products rose 22.21 per cent, while clothing and footwear prices eased by 0.96 per cent. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels prices went up by 0.60 per cent, along with prices of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance.
The healthcare sub-segment also reported a price rise of 0.66 per cent, as did education, with a price increase of 2.85 per cent. Further, costs in restaurants and hotels went up nearly 0.50 per cent. In contrast, communications, as well as recreation and culture, witnessed an easing in inflation by 0.02 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively, in November.