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RIYADH: Oman’s inflation rose 0.81 percent in the first five months of 2025 year on year, driven by stable housing and fuel costs and a decline in key food prices, official data showed. 

The Ministry of Economy attributed the subdued consumer price growth to declining costs in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which, along with housing and utilities, account for more than half the weighting in Oman’s inflation index. 

This comes as inflation is broadly easing across the Middle East and North Africa, though country-level trends remain mixed, with Jordan recording 1.98 percent, ������Ƶ 2.2 percent and Dubai 2.3 percent in April. Egypt, however, posted a rise of 16.8 percent.

In its release, Oman’s Ministry of Economy, citing its official spokesperson Salem bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh, stated that “the stability of food and non-alcoholic beverage prices this year reflects the slowdown in global price increases and the continuation of government support policies for basic goods and services.” 

It added: “At the same time, the food production, marketing, and manufacturing system continues to be strengthened as part of the progress made in implementing the food security strategy and economic diversification targets of the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).” 

This comes as global food commodity prices edged up in June, driven by higher meat, vegetable oil, and dairy prices, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. 

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 128 points for the month, up 0.5 percent from May and 5.8 percent higher year on year. However, it remained 20.1 percent below its March 2022 peak. 

The US Federal Reserve maintained steady interest rates but cautioned that tariffs could exacerbate inflation, while the IMF revised its global inflation forecast upward to 4.3 percent this year. 

In Oman, the general index for import prices increased by 1.3 percent, while the producer price index rose by 4.1 percent by the end of the first quarter compared to the same period in 2024. 

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices fell by 0.17 percent from January to May compared to the same period in 2024. Notable declines included vegetables at 4.63 percent, fish and seafood at 3.69 percent, and meat at 0.13 percent. Prices of non-alcoholic beverages dropped by 0.11 percent, and bread and cereals by 0.01 percent. 

Conversely, prices rose for sugar, jam, honey, and sweets by 3.13 percent; milk, cheese, and eggs by 2.88 percent. Fruit prices rose by 1.05 percent, followed by prices of oils and fats at 1.28 percent, while other food products saw a 3.40 percent increase. 

The miscellaneous goods and services category saw the highest inflation increase at 6.04 percent, followed by health care at 2.71 percent, and transportation at 2.68 percent. Prices remained stable for tobacco and communications, with minor increases in other CPI components. 

Geographically, inflation saw a slight decline of 0.04 percent in South Al Batinah Governorate by the end of the first quarter of 2025. 

The highest inflation rates were recorded in Al Dakhiliyah at 1.58 percent, Musandam at 1.51 percent, and South Al Sharqiyah at 1.24 percent. The lowest increases were in North Al Sharqiyah at 0.21 percent and North Al Batinah at 0.42 percent, while other governorates saw inflation below 1 percent.  

The agriculture and fisheries sectors grew by 2.8 percent in 2024, contributing 987 million Omani rials ($2.56 billion) to the gross domestic product at constant prices. Growth accelerated to 7.6 percent in the first quarter, adding 273.6 million rials to GDP, according to the spokesperson. 

Oman has established over 80 markets, slaughterhouses, and stalls since 2021 under the Governorate Development Program. Ongoing projects include a slaughterhouse in Shaleem and Halaniyat Islands, Al Mawared Market in Sinaw, an agricultural products center in Najd, and a fisheries and food industries complex in Duqm. 

RIO DE JANEIRO: President Donald Trump said the US will impose an additional 10 percent tariff on any countries aligning themselves with the “Anti-American policies” of the BRICS group of developing nations, whose leaders kicked off a summit in Brazil on Sunday. 

With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive “America First” approach of the US president, the BRICS is presenting itself as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars. 

In a joint statement from the opening of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro released on Sunday afternoon, the group warned the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism of Trump’s tariff policies. 

Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join with the grouping. 

“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 

Trump did not clarify or expand on the “Anti-American policies” reference in his post. 

Trump’s administration is seeking to finalize dozens of trade deals with a wide range of countries before his July 9 deadline for the imposition of significant “retaliatory tariffs.” 

The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE as members. ������Ƶ has held off formally joining, according to sources, while another 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners. 

Indonesia’s senior economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, is in Brazil for the BRICS summit and is scheduled to go to the US on Monday to oversee tariff talks, an official told Reuters. India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

In opening remarks to the summit earlier, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War's Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted joining either side of a polarized global order. 

“BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement,” Lula told leaders. “With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again.” 

BRICS nations now represent more than half the world’s population and 40 percent of its economic output, Lula noted in remarks on Saturday to business leaders, warning of rising protectionism. 

GROWING CLOUT, COMPLEXITY 

Expansion of the bloc has added diplomatic weight to the gathering, which aspires to speak for developing nations across the Global South, strengthening calls for reforming global institutions such as the UN Security Council and the International Monetary Fund. 

“If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to help bring it up to date,” Lula said in his remarks, which highlighted the failure of US-led wars in the Middle East. 

Stealing some thunder from this year’s summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to send his premier in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court related to his war in Ukraine. 

Still, several heads of state were gathered for discussions at Rio’s Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

However, there are questions about the shared goals of an increasingly heterogeneous BRICS group, which has grown to include regional rivals along with major emerging economies. 

In the joint statement, the leaders called attacks against Iran's “civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities” a “violation of international law.” 

The group expressed “grave concern” for the Palestinian people over Israeli attacks on Gaza, and condemned what the joint statement called a “terrorist attack” in India-administered Kashmir. 

The group voiced its support for Ethiopia and Iran to join the World Trade Organization, while calling to urgently restore its ability to resolve trade disputes. 

The leaders’ joint statement backed plans to pilot a BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative within the group’s New Development Bank to lower financing costs and boost investment in member states, as first reported by Reuters last week. 

In a separate statement following a discussion of artificial intelligence, the leaders called for protections against unauthorized use of AI to avoid excessive data collection and allow mechanisms for fair payment. 

Brazil, which also hosts the UN climate summit in November, has seized on both gatherings to highlight how seriously developing nations are tackling climate change, while Trump has slammed the brakes on US climate initiatives. 

China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in a proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions about funding conservation of endangered forests around the world.