Muscat: The rise was driven by increases across multiple sectors, with the highest surge seen in personal goods and services, which rose by 4.4%.

Other key categories that saw price hikes include:

Health (+3.2%)
Transportation (+2.8%)
Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+1%)
Restaurants and hotels (+0.9%)
Clothing and footwear (+0.6%)
Culture and entertainment (+0.6%)

Meanwhile, housing, water, electricity, gas, communications, and tobacco costs remained unchanged.

Within the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, vegetables saw the biggest jump, rising 6.2%, followed by:

Milk, cheese, and eggs (+3.3%)
Sugar, jam, honey, and sweets (+2.8%)
Oils and fats (+1.2%)
On the other hand, fruit prices dropped 1.3%, while fish and seafood (-0.5%), meat (-0.4%), and non-alcoholic beverages (-0.2%) also saw slight declines.

Inflation rates varied across governorates, with Musandam recording the highest rate at 1.7%, while South Al Batinah had the lowest at just 0.2%.

Other key figures included:

Al Dakhiliyah (1.5%)
South Al Sharqiyah (1.4%)
Al Wusta (1.3%)
Muscat and Dhofar (1.1%)
North Al Batinah (0.8%)
North Al Sharqiyah (0.3%)