Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s inflation in April remained unchanged from March at 2.7 percent, the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said in its recent data, adding that the higher Consumer Price Index (CPI) was mainly driven by an 8.1 percent year-on-year (YoY) rise in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels prices.
This is besides a 1 percent jump in food and beverage prices, GASTAT said. The cost-of-living index for April rose to 109.16 points, according to the base year 2018, from 106.29 points in April 2022.
Inflation is measured by the change percentage in the cost of living between the current period and the corresponding period of the previous year. The increase or decline of inflation is measured compared to the previous month.
GASTAT said rental prices were the main driver of inflation in April because of their high relative importance in the Saudi consumer basket, give that its weight in the index is 21 percent.
Actual rents for housing increased by 9.6 percent in April 2023, reflecting the increase in rents for apartments by 22.2 percent.
The CPI reflects price changes of a fixed basket of goods and services that includes 490 items. The items were chosen based on the results of the Household Expenditure and Income Survey conducted in 2018.
Inflation in Riyadh, Dammam, Buraydah, Al Baha and Abha rose month-on-month (MoM), while it declined in Makkah, Jeddah, Al Madinah, Taif, Al Hofuf, Tabuk, Hail, Najran and Sakaka.