Oman's annual inflation accelerated to a five-month high of 1.7 per cent in January on a rise in transport prices and rents, data from the Gulf oil producer showed yesterday.
The global downturn slashed price growth across the world's largest oil exporting region last year from record, double-digit peaks in 2008, with some countries such as the UAE and Qatar experiencing deflation.
Annual inflation in non-Opec member Oman started picking up in December, when it rebounded to 0.9 per cent from a low of 0.8 per cent in the previous month. It is still well below a record high of 13.7 per cent in June, 2008. The consumer price index in the Gulf sultanate rose by 0.6 per cent month-on-month in January, the fastest rise since August 2009, after a 0.2 per cent increase in the previous month, the economy ministry data showed.
Transport prices, which account for 22 per cent of the basket, jumped 2.9 per cent in January compared with the previous month, following a 0.2 per cent rise in December. The rents and energy items, which has a similar weight, rose 0.8 per cent after staying flat in the previous month.