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Muscat, Oman:Inflation in the Sultanate of Oman climbed to a record 10.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, peaking at an unprecedented 11.3 per cent in March alone, the Oman Ministry of National Economy said on Saturday.
The increase was fuelled by strong domestic demand, massive growth in liquidity, and continued depreciation of the Omani Rial against the currencies of the major non-GCC trading partners, the Ministry said.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose from 9.7 per cent in January to 10.6 per cent in February, while cresting at 11.3 per cent in March, continuing a trend in accelerating CPI increases over the past year.
Significantly, the CPI increased more in Oman than in most of its trading partners for which data were available during the first quarter of 2008. Of the ten major sources of imports to the Sultanate, Saudi Arabia had the highest rate of CPI increase at 9.8 per cent in March 2008 compared to March 2007. Yet this was below the 11.3 per cent increase in Oman over the same period.
The CPI in Qatar increased 14.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2008, which was significantly higher than in the Sultanate.
Oman has been witnessing a trend of rising inflation since 2004, with annual inflation rising by 0.7 per cent in 2004, 1.9 per cent in 2005, 3.4 per cent in 2006, and 5.9 per cent in 2007.
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