Inflation drops 1.42 per cent in December

MUSCAT: The inflation rate in the Sultanate, measured by movement in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell by 1.42 per cent in December 2020 compared to the same month of 2019, according to the latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) on consumer prices’ index.

According to the report, the inflation rate in December fell by 0.18 per cent compared to November 2020.

However, the transport fell by 0.59 per cent; miscellaneous goods and services by 0.13 per cent; food and non-alcoholic beverages by 0.09 per cent; and furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance by 0.01 per cent in December 2020 compared to November 2020. In contrast, the prices of restaurants and hotels group increased by 0.05 per cent, and the prices of housing groups, water, electricity and other fuels, health, communication, recreation and culture, and education were stable.

The fall in the price index in December 2020 compared to the same month of 2019 is due to a decrease in the prices of the main groups such as the transportation group by 6.42 per cent, the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group by 0.42 per cent, the restaurants and hotels group by 0.22 per cent and the food and non-alcoholic beverages group by 0.07 per cent; as well as the communications group by 0.04 per cent.

On the other hand, the prices of the group of miscellaneous goods and services increased by 1.14 per cent, the recreation and culture group by 0.54 per cent, the group of furnishings, household equipment and routing household maintenance by 0.13 per cent, the education group by 0.08 per cent, and the health group by 0.02 per cent.