Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate accelerated by 2.3 percent in May, following energy price hikes and implementation of the value-added tax (VAT), the latest figures from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) showed.
The cost of living index leveled up to 107.3 points in May 2018, compared to 104.9 points in the same month last year.
The GASTAT changed the base year for the consumer price index to 2013 from 2007 and adjusted the basket of goods and services.
|
Saudi Inflation Rate |
|
|
Month |
Inflation rate* |
|
January 2017 |
(0.6%) |
|
February |
(0.6%) |
|
March |
(0.7%) |
|
April |
(0.7%) |
|
May |
(0.8%) |
|
June |
(0.5%) |
|
July |
(0.8%) |
|
August |
(0.8%) |
|
September |
(0.8%) |
|
October |
(1.2%) |
|
November |
(1.7%) |
|
December |
(1.1%) |
|
January 2018 |
+3.0% |
|
February |
+2.9% |
|
March |
+2.8% |
|
April |
+2.5% |
|
May |
+2.3% |
*Updated for base year 2013
Prices of eight main groups in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket increased, led by tobacco, which surged 54.1 percent in May.
The remaining four groups saw retreated. Apparel & footwear saw the steepest decline at 8.3 percent.
The following table shows the most important changes in the main groups in the CPI between April 2017 and 2018:
|
CPI YoY comparison (April 2017/2018) |
|
|
Main Groups |
Variation (%) |
|
Tobacco* |
+54.1% |
|
Transportation |
+10.0% |
|
Hotels & Restaurants |
+7.1% |
|
Food & Beverages |
+5.3% |
|
Healthcare |
+3.6% |
|
Telecommunications |
+1.6% |
|
Education |
+0.5% |
|
Home Furniture & Maintenance |
+0.2% |
|
Entertainment & culture |
(0.3%) |
|
Goods & various services |
(0.4%) |
|
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Fuel |
(0.4%) |
|
Apparel & Footwear |
(8.3%) |
* The increase is due to applying selective tax on tobacco 
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