According to data from Oman’s economy ministry, the Sultanate’s inflation rate rose to a 19-month peak of 4.2 per cent year-on-year in September 2010 as food and housing costs picked up sharply, Reuters has reported. Food, beverage and tobacco costs, which account for more than a third of the index, jumped 2.6 per cent on a monthly basis from 1.2 per cent in the previous month, the data showed.