Saudi inflation rises 3.3% year-on-year in December 2022: GASTAT

Saudi inflation rises 3.3% year-on-year in December 2022: GASTAT

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation rate rose by 3.3 percent in December 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, according to the latest report released by the Kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics. The report noted that the rise in the Kingdom’s consumer price index was primarily driven by the higher prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels which went up by 5.9 percent, while food and beverage prices rose by 4.2 percent. Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate in December is the highest since June 2021, when it hit 6.2 percent. According to the report, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel prices were increased due to the rise in actual rentals for housing by 6.8 percent, which in turn was affected by the increase in apartment rental prices by 18.1 percent. In November, the inflation rate in Saudi Arabia was 2.9 percent, while it stood at 3.1 percent and 3 percent in September and October respectively. “Prices for housing were the main driver of the inflation rate in December 2022 due to their high relative importance in the Saudi consumer basket with a weight of 25.5 percent,” said GASTAT in the report. The report further pointed out that