Oman inflation rises marginally in March

Muscat: The rate of inflation in the Sultanate rose by 0.43 per cent in March 2019, compared to the same month in 2018, according to the latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) on consumer price indices. The index decreased by 0.04 per cent compared to February 2019.
The rise in the price index in March 2019 compared to the same month in 2018 is attributed to the rise in the prices of the major groups, such as food and non-alcoholic beverages by 2.26 per cent, restaurants and hotels group by 0.24 per cent, clothing and footwear group by 0.04 per cent, education group by 2.02 per cent, culture and entertainment by 0.34 per cent, furniture, household equipment and regular household maintenance by 4.66 per cent.
Transport group prices fell by 0.93 per cent, miscellaneous goods and services group by 2.26 per cent, telecommunications group by 0.38 per cent and health group by 0.49 per cent. The prices of housing group, water, electricity, gas, fuels and tobacco group remained the same.
At the governorate level, The Governorate of Dhofar witnessed the highest increase in inflation by 0.84 per cent, followed by the Governorate of A’Dakhiliyah by 0.8 per cent, the Governorates of North and South A'Sharqiyah by 0.79 per cent, the Governorate of North Al Batinah by 0.55 per cent, the Governorate of A'Dhahirah by 0.5 per cent and the Governorate of Muscat by 0.12 per cent. The rate decreased by 0.47 per cent in the Governorate of Al Buraimi.
In comparison to the previous month, the consumer price index fell by 0.04 per cent. The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 0.01 per cent, transport by 0.11 per cent, communications by 0.02 per cent, restaurants and hotels by 0.39 per cent, miscellaneous goods and services by 0.18 per cent, and culture and leisure by 0.09 per cent.
In addition, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels prices rose by 0.04 per cent, furniture, household equipment and household maintenance by 0.24 per cent, and prices of clothing, footwear, education, health and tobacco were stable.