Muscat: The data reveals that the biggest year-on-year increase was recorded in the oils, fats, and waxes category—both vegetable and animal—rising sharply by 16.8%. This was followed by a 5.6% increase in food and live animals, while prices in both the beverages and tobacco group and the machinery and transportation equipment group climbed by 2.7% each.

Conversely, the prices of mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials fell by 7.1%, marking the largest year-on-year drop among all categories. Other notable declines were seen in miscellaneous manufactured goods (down 5%), chemicals and related materials (down 1.2%), manufactured goods classified mainly by material (down 1.1%), and non-edible raw materials excluding fuels (down 0.9%).

When compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, the import price index saw a sharper quarter-on-quarter rise of 9%. The machinery and transportation equipment group led this surge with a significant 30.4% jump, followed closely by mineral fuels and lubricants at 29.1%. Non-edible raw materials excluding fuel rose by 12.2%, and chemicals and related materials increased by 2.5%.

On the other hand, several categories recorded quarterly declines. Miscellaneous products saw the largest dip at 17.2%, followed by manufactured goods (down 3.9%), oils and fats (down 3.2%), food and live animals (down 1.1%), and beverages and tobacco (down 0.3%).