MUSCAT, 24 August – The Producer Price Index (PPI) in the Sultanate of Oman registered a rise of 40.7 per cent during the second quarter of this year (2022) compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
As per the data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), oil and gas products took the lead in the upward trend, constituting 48.7 percent, while non-oil products registered 7.8 percent rise.
The quarterly survey points out that the hike in prices of oil and gas products results from a 50.3 percent rise in prices of refined oil products and a 48.4 percent rise in crude oil and natural gas.
The growth in prices of non-oil products is attributed to a 9.4 percent rise in prices of the converting industries group and a 1.8 percent rise in the mining, electricity and water group.
In the converting industries group, the prices of most sub-groups grew in varying proportions: Foodstuff prices increased by 15.2 percent, mineral products, machinery and equipment by 11.6 percent and other movables by 5.7 percent.
A breakup of figures shows that in the foodstuff and textiles group, the prices of fisheries, fruits, vegetables and oils grew by 34.8 per cent, textiles by 11.7 per cent, beverages by 8.6 per cent, dairy products by 8.5 per cent, bakery and other food products by 3.9 per cent and footwear items by 2.7 per cent.
In the Minerals, Machinery and Equipment Group, the prices of products made from iron, steel or aluminium grew by 35.7 per cent, vacant compressed cylinder products by 15.4 per cent, crude, iron, steel and aluminium by 11.4 per cent and water heater products by 10.4 per cent, while the prices of power transformers, cables and electrical appliances registered an increase of 6.1 per cent. — Zawya
