Saudi inflation eases to 2.7% in March: GASTAT 

Saudi inflation eases to 2.7% in March: GASTAT 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate softened to 2.7 percent in March, against 3 percent recorded in February, primarily driven by a slight decrease in the prices of food and beverages, according to the latest report released by the General Authority for Statistics.

The inflation rate in the Kingdom stood at 3.4 percent and 3.3 percent in January 2023 and December 2022 respectively.

The GASTAT report noted that the month-on-month decline in Saudi Arabia’s consumer price index was affected by a 0.4 percent decrease in food prices.

It added that household equipment and maintenance prices also fell by 0.5 percent in March compared to the previous month.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the Kingdom’s inflation rate continues to rise in line with the global trend, as it stood at 2.0 percent in March 2022.

The report pointed out that the rise in Saudi Arabia’s consumer price index in March compared to the same month of last year was driven by the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels which went up by 7.4 percent.

Prices of food and beverages went up by 2.3 percent year-on-year, while transport prices edged up by 1.8 percent.

While housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel prices increased due to the