Oman Inflation Eases to 3.2 Percent in September as Transport Inflation Slows to 4.8 Percent

By The Edge Research Team

Oman’s annual consumer price inflation eased to 3.2 percent in September from 3.4 percent in August, with transport price growth slowing to 4.8 percent from 8.5 percent and 7 of the 12 main price groups at 2.2 percent or less, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). The centre put the average rate for January to September at 3.0 percent.

A Steady Band Since March

September matched the 3.2 percent recorded in April and July, and the annual rate has moved within a range of 2.8 to 3.8 percent since March, a band of 1 percentage point on our reading of the 2026 releases. The high point came in May at 3.8 percent; September sits 0.6 points under it.

The year-to-date average has climbed in small steps: 1.7 percent after February, 2.3 percent for the first quarter, 2.6 percent through April, 2.8 percent through May and June, 2.9 percent through July and August and 3.0 percent through September. A simple average of the 9 monthly year-on-year rates comes to 2.96 percent on our calculation, consistent with the published 3.0 percent once rounded.

Inflation was 1.1 percent in September 2025 and averaged 0.8 percent over January to September 2025, so this September’s rate is 2.1 percentage points higher and the 9-month average is 2.2 points higher, on our calculation. Full-year 2025 inflation averaged 1 percent, with December at 1.6 percent and January 2026 at 1.4 percent. The largest single step this year came in March, when the rate rose to 3.6 percent from 2.0 percent in February.

Oman Inflation Settles in a 2.8 to 3.8 Percent Range Since March

Consumer price index, base year 2018, change against the same month a year earlier, from the monthly releases. The December 2025 average covers the full year 2025; no year-to-date average was published with the January 2026 figure.

Transport and Miscellaneous Goods Cool as Food Leads the Basket

Transport slowed by 3.7 percentage points in a month on our calculation, to 4.8 percent from 8.5 percent, its lowest reading since February’s 0.2 percent. It now runs only 0.3 points above the 4.5 percent of September 2025. Miscellaneous goods and services rose 4.7 percent, the lowest for the group in any 2026 release, 1.4 points under August and 9.1 points under the 13.8 percent of March. A year earlier the group was running at 7.6 percent.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded the highest rate of the 12 groups. The group climbed 8 percent, its highest reading this year and up from 7.0 percent in August, against a 0.5 percent decline in September 2025. At 2.5 times the headline rate on our calculation, food was the only group to accelerate by a full percentage point in September. All 10 food subgroups rose. Vegetables were up 20.1 percent and fruits 16.3 percent, while meat rose 10.3 percent, higher in each release since April, when it stood at 3.7 percent. Fish swung to a 5.0 percent increase from a 0.1 percent decline in August.

Elsewhere in the food basket, prices moved far less. Bread and cereals rose 1.4 percent, oils and fats 0.1 percent, sugar, jam, honey and sweets 2.9 percent, and milk, cheese and eggs 3.4 percent. Vegetable inflation, while still the highest line, is 4.9 points under the 25 percent of April, on our calculation. The narrower food category, shown separately in the September report, rose 8.4 percent.

The same report publishes the weights of the 12 groups in the 2018-based index. Housing, water, electricity and fuels carries the largest, 31.7 percent, ahead of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 20.6 percent and transport at 14.5 percent. The 7 groups running at 2.2 percent or less together account for 48.7 percent of the weight on our calculation, and the 5 groups above the headline for 51.2 percent; transport and miscellaneous goods and services, the 2 groups that eased in September, carry 19.8 percent between them.

Transport and Miscellaneous Goods Cool While 7 of 12 Groups Stay at 2.2 Percent or Less

Year-on-year change by main consumer price group, ranked by the September 2026 reading, with the published index weights (base year 2018; they sum to 99.9 on our calculation). A 0.0 entry is a group reported as unchanged. September 2025 rates, in percent: food and non-alcoholic beverages minus 0.5, transport 4.5, miscellaneous goods and services 7.6, restaurants and hotels 2.6, furnishings minus 0.1, education 0.1, health 0.8, culture and recreation minus 0.2, clothing 0.4, housing, communications and tobacco unchanged.

Broad Stability Across 7 of the 12 Groups

Beyond the 5 groups running above the headline, the September basket was steady. In all, 7 groups, education, health, culture and recreation, clothing, housing and utilities, communications and tobacco, ran at 2.2 percent or less, all under the 3.2 percent headline rate. Against August, 2 groups eased, 3 picked up and 7 were unchanged.

Several lines have barely moved all year. Education has recorded 2.2 percent in every monthly release of 2026, and health has stayed between 1.7 and 1.8 percent. Communications and tobacco have been unchanged in each 2026 release, and culture and recreation, clothing and footwear, and housing and utilities have not exceeded 0.4 percent in any month this year. Housing turned to a 0.1 percent rise after 3 months at minus 0.6 percent, and restaurants and hotels recorded 3.6 percent for a third straight month.

6 of 11 Governorates Ease, Led by Muscat

Inflation eased from August in 6 of Oman’s 11 governorates, rose in 4 and was flat in Dhofar. Muscat recorded the largest easing, to 3.3 percent from 3.9 percent, and Al Buraimi followed at 2.8 percent from 3.3 percent. Al Dhahirah again had the highest rate, 4.4 percent, but that was down from 4.8 percent; it has led the governorates in 8 of the 9 releases this year, with Muscat on top only in March. Dhofar had the lowest rate, 2.1 percent, for a third consecutive month.

The gap between the highest and lowest governorate narrowed to 2.3 percentage points from 2.7 points in August, on our calculation, and 6 governorates ran at or under the national 3.2 percent. The increases came in North Al Sharqiyah, up 0.6 points to 2.8 percent, Al Wusta, up 0.5 points to 3.9 percent, North Al Batinah, up 0.4 points to 2.9 percent, and South Al Sharqiyah, up 0.3 points to 3.4 percent.

6 of 11 Governorates Ease From August, Led by Muscat

Year-on-year consumer price inflation by governorate, ranked by the September 2026 reading. Change in percentage points is our calculation.

Why it matters: For Oman’s households and businesses, September shows 7 of the 12 main price groups at 2.2 percent or less, under the 3.2 percent headline rate; together they carry 48.7 percent of the index weight, and housing and utilities, the largest group at 31.7 percent, has stayed close to flat all year alongside communications, clothing and tobacco. Transport and miscellaneous goods and services were the only 2 groups to ease, the latter to its lowest reading of 2026, and the headline rate still came down even as food accelerated. The narrower spread between governorates, with the capital easing most, points to a more even price picture across the country.

Outlook: The next monthly release will show whether transport’s slower September pace carries into October and whether food steadies, with vegetables at 20.1 percent against 25 percent in April. Year-on-year comparisons for the last months of 2026 will run against readings of 1.67 percent in November 2025 and 1.6 percent in December 2025. With the 9-month average at 3.0 percent and 7 of the 12 groups at 2.2 percent or less, the annual rate has stayed inside the band it has kept since March.

Sources: National Centre for Statistics and Information, The Edge.

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