Oman’s consumer price index rose by 1.6% in December 2025, compared with the same month in 2024, reflecting moderate inflationary pressures at year’s end.
According to Oman’s official data, released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information, average inflation for the January–December 2025 period increased by 1%.
While miscellaneous personal goods and services recorded the sharpest price increase, rising by 10% year-on-year, it was followed by transport (2.8%), restaurants and hotels (2.6%) and furniture, household equipment and routine maintenance (2.4%), as well as education at 2.2%.
Among other categories, food and non-alcoholic beverages prices increased by 1.1%, while clothing and footwear rose by 0.2% and health by 0.1%. Prices in the culture and recreation group, however, declined by 0.1%. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, as well as communications, remained unchanged over the period. Within the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, December prices compared with the same month of 2024 showed notable increases in fish and seafood at 6% and fruits at 4%.
Sugar, jam, honey and confectionery rose by 3.5%, milk, followed by cheese and eggs (2.1%) and non-alcoholic beverages (0.9%). Meat prices, on the other hand, increased by 0.8%, while bread and cereals, oils and fats went up by 0.7%. While other unclassified food products went up by 0.4%, vegetable prices defied the trend by going down by 5.8%.
On a regional basis, Al Dhahirah governorate recorded the highest inflation rate at 2.5% by the end of December 2025 compared with a year earlier. Inflation also rose by 2.1% in Al Dakhiliyah, 1.7% in Muscat and Al Buraimi and 1.5% in South Al Batinah. South Al Sharqiyah and Musandam each posted increases of 1.1%, while North Al Sharqiyah and North Al Batinah rose by 0.9%. Meanwhile, Al Wusta and Dhofar recorded inflation of 0.8%.
The report emphasises the importance of different expenditure groups within the consumer price index (CPI) basket, explaining why changes in certain categories have a greater influence on overall inflation.
The largest category is housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which accounts for 31.7% of the CPI. This is followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 20.6% and transport at 14.5%.
Together, these three groups make up more than two-thirds of the CPI basket. This means that stability in housing and utility prices can significantly help control overall inflation, even when there are larger increases in smaller-weight categories, such as miscellaneous goods and services.