Among the GCC member states the highest inflation rate was recorded in the UAE at 4.29 per cent followed by Kuwait at 3.14 per cent. Inflation rates in Saudi Arabia came at 2.3 per cent Bahrain at 1.6 per cent and in Qatar at 1.5 per cent. Inflation in the sultanate was the lowest in the GCC at 0.1 per cent.

Compared with August 2015 the September 2015 consumer price index shows an increase in Bahrain by 0.6 per cent in the UAE by 0.31 per cent Saudi Arabia by 0.3 per cent Qatar by 0.2 per cent and Kuwait by 0.15 per cent.

In contrast the sultanate's consumer price index decreased by 0.32 per cent in September compared with August. Compared with the same month last year the prices of the 'food and beverage' group increased in September 2015 in most of the GCC countries.

Kuwait recorded an increase of 4.35 per cent in 'food and beverage' group followed by Bahrain with an increase of 3.2 per cent. The UAE's food and beverage group inflation rose by 2.05 per cent while the same in Saudi Arabia and Qatar increased by 1.9 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. In contrast the prices of 'food and beverage' group fell by 1.15 per cent in Oman.