MUSCAT – Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed that miscellaneous manufactured goods recorded the largest increase at 11.2 percent, followed by machinery and transport equipment at 9.2 percent and beverages and tobacco at 7.8 percent.
Prices of vegetable and animal oils, fats and waxes increased by 4.1 percent, while chemicals and related materials rose by 1.7 percent and food and live animals by 1.3 percent.
In contrast, some categories recorded declines. Inedible raw materials, excluding fuels, registered the largest decrease at 14.6 percent, followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at 10.7 percent and manufactured goods classified chiefly by material at 2.5 percent.
On a quarterly basis, the overall import price index increased by 0.5 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. The increase was driven mainly by a 26.1 percent rise in prices of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, followed by increases of 4.0 percent in beverages and tobacco, 2.2 percent in machinery and transport equipment, and 0.2 percent in food and live animals.
Conversely, prices of miscellaneous manufactured goods declined by 11.7 percent, while vegetable and animal oils, fats and waxes fell by 7.8 percent. Prices of chemicals and related materials decreased by 4.8 percent, followed by inedible raw materials, excluding fuels, at 4.0 percent, and manufactured goods classified chiefly by material at 1.5 percent.