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Muscat: Omani inflation accelerated to a record 11.6 per cent in March from 11 per cent in February as the cost of food and housing soared.
Food prices jumped 20 per cent, up from 17 per cent in January, the Omani Ministry of Economy said on its Web site on Sunday. Rents increased by an annual 14.2 per cent in March compared with 14 per cent in January and February.
Inflation has accelerated to record levels across the Gulf as the dollar's decline makes imports more expensive, global food costs rise and surging economic growth contributes to a shortage of housing and infrastructure.
Gulf states have been under pressure to revalue their currencies or drop their pegs to the dollar after the US currency fell 13 per cent in the past 12 months on a trade-weighted basis.
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