Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation slows in October

Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate continued to slow for the fifth consecutive month in October, registering 1.6%, down from 1.7% in September, according to the General Authority for Statistics.

According to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics, this is the lowest rate of inflation in nearly two years, when it also reached 1.6% in February last year.

“The decline was driven by a contraction in vehicle purchases, which accounted for 8.3% of the index’s weight, by 1.1% against a rise of 5.8% in October last year, the largest contraction since November 2019, along with a slowdown in food and beverage prices, which accounted for 17% of the index’s weight, to 0.6% from 4.6% in October 2022,” the General Authority for Statistics said in a statement.

The consumer price index in Saudi Arabia in September hit its lowest level since February 2022 at 1.7%, on the back of a slowdown in rents that accounted for 21% of the index’s weight, after the growth rate of housing-paid rent prices in September reached 9.76%, the lowest level since April 2022.