Saudi Arabia reported a marginal increase in its Consumer Price Index – or inflation rate – to 2 per cent in January 2025 from 1.9 per cent in the previous month.
According to the data released on Sunday by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), the rise in inflation is driven mainly by an increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels sector by 8 per cent.
The prices of the food and beverages section rose by 0.8 per cent, while the prices of the miscellaneous personal goods and services section by 3.3 per cent, compared to a decrease in the prices of the transportation section by 1.9 per cent.
Saudi Arabia has the lowest inflation rates among the G20 countries.
According to the GASTAT data, the eight per cent increase in the housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels section was affected by the 9.7 per cent increase in housing rents and 7.7 per cent rise in villa rentals during January 2025.
The housing and villa rentals have a high weightage – at 25.5 per cent – which impacts the overall inflation rate.
Prices of the food and beverages section rose by 0.8 per cent last month, driven by a 5.6 per cent increase in vegetable prices, while the prices of the miscellaneous personal goods and services section rose by 3.3 per cent, affected by a 21.6 per cent increase in the prices of jewellery, watches and valuable antiques.
The prices of the restaurants and hotels section rose by 0.8 per cent, driven by a 3.1 per cent increase in the prices of hotel services and furnished apartments, while the education section recorded a 0.6 per cent increase, affected by a 0.6 per cent rise in the prices of tuition fees for pre-primary and primary education.
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