Oman Inflation Rises to 3.4 Percent as Transport Prices Jump 8.5 Percent
Consumer prices in Oman rose 3.4 percent in the year to August, up from 3.2 percent in July, the National Centre for Statistics and Information said, in a month when the largest group in the basket was the only one to fall.
Transport rose 8.5 percent and was the fastest rising of the twelve groups. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which carries a weight of 31.7 percent, almost a third of the basket, fell 0.6 percent.
The three blocks that decide the index
| Oman consumer prices, August 2026 | Weight | Annual change |
|---|---|---|
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels | 31.7 | -0.6% |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 20.6 | 7.0% |
| Transport | 14.5 | 8.5% |
| Furnishings and household equipment | 6.3 | 3.1% |
As published. Weights are percentages of the basket and sum to 99.9 across all 12 groups. The index base year is 2018.
Those three groups carry 66.8 percent of the basket between them on our calculation, and they are pulling in opposite directions. The two that are rising hold 35.1 percent together; the one that is falling holds 31.7 percent on its own.
The remaining eight groups are quiet. Miscellaneous goods and services rose 6.1 percent on a weight of 5.3, restaurants and hotels 3.6 on 4.5, education 2.2 on 2.4 and health 1.7 on 1.4. Clothing and footwear rose 0.1 percent, recreation and culture 0.4 percent, and communication and tobacco did not move at all.
Inside food, fresh produce is the outlier
The centre publishes sub-item detail for food alone, and it is the only place in the report carrying both a monthly and an annual change.
| Food sub-items, August 2026 | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetables | -0.6% | 19.0% |
| Fruits | -0.6% | 16.3% |
| Meat | 0.8% | 9.8% |
| Fish | -7.4% | -0.1% |
As published. Milk, cheese and eggs rose 3.0 percent over the year, cereals and bread 0.8 percent, and non-alcoholic beverages 3.5 percent.
Vegetables and fruit are rising at more than twice the rate of the food group as a whole, and both fell on the month, so the annual figures rest on what happened earlier in the year rather than in August.
The centre publishes two food numbers that are easy to confuse. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, the group in the main table, rose 7.0 percent. The food group on its own rose 7.3 percent. The difference is the beverages component at 3.5 percent, which pulls the combined figure down.
The governorates span 2.7 points
Al Dhahirah recorded the highest rate at 4.8 percent and Dhofar the lowest at 2.1, a spread of 2.7 percentage points on our calculation.
Muscat, the largest population centre, was above the national rate at 3.9 percent, as was A’Dakhiliyah at 3.8 and Al Wusta at 3.4. Musandam and Al Buraimi were both at 3.3 and South A’Sharqiyah at 3.1. Below the national rate sat South Al Batinah at 2.7, North Al Batinah at 2.5 and North A’Sharqiyah at 2.2.
The index itself stood at 110.2 in August against 110.5 in July on a 2018 base of 100. The centre publishes no monthly headline rate, and those two levels imply a fall of 0.3 percent over the month on our calculation.
Average inflation for the first eight months of 2026 was 2.9 percent. The report carries no commentary of any kind; its only explanatory text is a footnote saying that about 56,640 prices are collected from 3,907 sources, with rent data from a sample of 1,509 units.
Why it matters: Oman’s headline rate is being restrained by the largest component of its basket. Housing and utilities are 31.7 percent of the index and are cheaper than a year ago, subtracting about 0.19 percentage points from the headline on our calculation. Had that group merely held flat, the rate would sit near 3.6 percent rather than 3.4. Transport and food, at 35.1 percent of the basket between them, are both rising 7 percent or more, so the composition of the 3.4 percent matters more than its level.
Outlook: The centre publishes no next release date in this report. Housing is the group to watch, because it is the largest single offset in the index and a move from falling to rising there would add materially to the headline while transport and food inflation stay elevated. Transport is the second, since it is the group most exposed to fuel, and the report publishes no sub-item detail inside it at all.
Sources: National Centre for Statistics and Information of Oman.
