Saudi Arabia’s inflation accelerated to 5.7% in September 2020, according to recent data by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
The authority said that the acceleration in consumer price inflation was due to an increase in value-added tax (VAT) from 5% to 15% starting July 1, 2020, which had a general impact on annual inflation.
The cost of living index for August rose to 104.0 points according to the base year 2018, compared to 98.4 points the year before.
|
Saudi Inflation Rate |
|
|
Month |
Inflation rate* |
|
January 2019 |
(3.2%) |
|
February |
(3.2%) |
|
March |
(3.2%) |
|
April |
(2.9%) |
|
May |
(2.6%) |
|
June |
(2.6%) |
|
July |
(2.2%) |
|
August |
(1.9%) |
|
September |
(1.4%) |
|
October |
(0.9%) |
|
November |
(0.8%) |
|
December |
(0.2%) |
|
January 2020 |
0.7 % |
|
February |
1.2 % |
|
March |
1.5 % |
|
April |
1.3% |
|
May |
1.1% |
|
June |
0.5% |
|
July |
6.1% |
|
August |
6.2% |
|
September |
5.7% |
The majority of sectors witnessed a rise in prices year-on-year (YoY), except for the education sector.
The consumer price index (CPI) rise was mainly driven by an increase of 12.6% YoY in the average prices of food and beverages, and a 7.8% rise in transport sector.
The average prices of food and beverages rose as food prices grew by 12.8%. In addition, meat and poultry, and vegetables prices climbed by 14.7% and 18.5%, respectively.
Moreover, the tobacco sector registered the biggest increase in September by 13.3%, on the back of a 12.3% increase in cigarette prices.
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.
|
CPI YoY comparison (September 2019/2020) |
|
|
Main Groups |
Variation (%) |
|
Tobacco |
+13.3% |
|
Food & Beverages |
+12.6% |
|
Communication |
+9.5% |
|
Furnishings, household equipment and maintenance |
+8.3% |
|
Transport |
+7.8% |
|
Restaurants & Hotels |
+7.1% |
|
Clothes and footwear |
+6.1% |
|
Miscellaneous goods & services |
+6.1% |
|
Recreation & Culture |
+3.5% |
|
Healthcare |
+2.7% |
|
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Fuel |
-- |
|
Education |
(8.3%) |
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