In the month of May, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia maintained a consistent inflation rate of 1.6%, marking the third consecutive month at this level. This persistency in the inflation figures was primarily due to the rising costs of housing rents.
The nation saw a significant 10.5% escalation in housing rents compared to the previous year. This increase was propelled by a notable 14.3% hike in apartment rents, as reported by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics.
Within the category encompassing housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, there was an 8.7% uptick from the year before.
Additionally, the food and beverage sector experienced a 1.4% rise in prices on an annual basis, whereas the domain of hotels and restaurants saw a 2.5% inflation, underscored by a 1.9% rise in the cost of food services.
Contrastingly, the prices for clothing and footwear dipped by 4%, and the cost of purchasing vehicles fell by 4.1%, contributing to an overall 2.4% reduction in transportation costs.
Comparing month to month, there was a slight 0.2% uptick in prices from April to May.
Despite global trends exhibiting higher inflation rates, Saudi Arabia’s inflation has remained relatively restrained below 2% year to date, thanks to effective government policies that have mitigated the impacts of international price surges.