Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate inched up to 1.6% in August, from 1.5% in July, government data showed on Sunday, driven by an increase in housing rents and food prices.
On a month-on-month basis, prices increased 0.1% in August © Mena Today
Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate inched up to 1.6% in August, from 1.5% in July, government data showed on Sunday, driven by an increase in housing rents and food prices.
Housing rents rose by 10.7% in August, weighing on the overall rise in prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 8.9%, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
The inflation rate had held steady at 1.5% in June and July, underpinned mostly by apartment rents.
In August data showed that food and beverage prices rose 0.9%, a bigger increase than in recent months, driven by a 4.6% rise in vegetable prices.
Prices in the restaurants and hotels category, as well as the education sector, also rose, while prices in the transport sub-category fell by 3.4% and those in the furnishing and home equipment sector declined 3.5%.
On a month-on-month basis, prices increased 0.1% in August.
Inflation has remained relatively low in Saudi Arabia this year compared with global levels.
In its latest country report, the International Monetary Fund forecast Saudi inflation will average 1.9% in 2024 and 2% in 2025.
Reporting by Rachna Uppal
Iran and its allies ramped up pressure on the US and allied Gulf states on two fronts on Sunday, with Saudi-backed forces retreating in their battle against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen and Iran itself firing drones at US bases in Bahrain.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Friday they had fired two ballistic missiles at what they described as concentrations of Saudi forces in Al-Tuwal in Jazan province, hours after Saudi civil defence issued an all-clear for the province.
President Donald Trump has told senior advisers in recent days that he may hold off on attacking Iran if the US faces no new provocations from Tehran or the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to three people familiar with the matter.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.