Saudi inflation at 1.7% in November 2023: Gov’t data

In November 2023, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.7%, compared to November 2022, higher than in the previous month (1.6%), the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said on Thursday.

The main drivers of CPI inflation in November were higher prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (7.8%) and prices of food and beverages (1.4%).

Actual rents for housing increased by 9.4% in November 2023, reflecting the increase of rents for apartments by 12.8%, GASTAT said.

Prices for rents were the main driver of the inflation rate in November 2023 due to their high relative importance in the Saudi consumer basket (with a weight of 21.0%).

Food and beverage prices increased by 1.4%؛ due to the increase in milk products and eggs (4.2%).

Restaurants and hotels prices increased by 2.3% due to the increase in hotel & furnished apartment services prices (5.6 %).

Education prices increased by 0.8%, mainly resulting from the increase in secondary education prices by 3.1%.

Recreation and culture prices increased by 0.5% due to the increase in package holidays prices by 6.3%.

In contrast, furnishings, household equipment & maintenance prices decreased by 2.9%, due to the decrease in furniture, carpets and other floor coverings (-5.0%). Clothing and footwear prices decreased by 4.1% due to the decrease in garment prices (-6.2%).