(MENAFN) The Omani National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) said that Oman's annual inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), declined to 0.8 per cent in December, Muscat Daily reported.
The report said that the easing of the inflation rate in December is mostly attributed to a decrease or stabilizing of the costs of most food items and commodities, adding that it is compared with an inflation of 0.95 per cent in November, which in itself was a decline from 1.02 per cent in October.
In terms of segments, the prices of food and beverages segment, which has a nearly 24 per cent weighting in Oman's CPI, dropped 0.33 per cent in December as a result of lower vegetable and fish and seafood costs, which dropped 3.17 per cent and 2.81 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the price of tobacco products rose 2.83 percent, clothing and footwear fell by 1.03 percent, while the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels category, which accounts for 26.5 percent in the CPI, posted a 0.38 per cent increase in prices in December.
"Global commodity prices are either stabilizing or declining in dollar terms. In addition, the strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies is helping to keep imported inflation very minimal or negative. Lower global energy prices will also keep imported manufactured goods costs stable or down," the NCSI said.
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