Saudi Arabia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose to 3% in February, compared to the same period a year ago, mainly on account of higher prices of housing, water, electricity, fuels, and food, official data showed Wednesday.
“Actual rents for housing increased by 8.3% in February 2023, reflecting the increase in rents for apartments by 21.4%,” the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said in its latest report. Rent costs were the main driver of the inflation rate in February 2023 due to their high relative importance in the Saudi consumer basket at 20.9%.
The statistics authority also noted that food prices increased by 3.1%, driven by a 4.1% rise in meat and poultry prices, and a 14.1% surge in milk products and eggs costs while fuel costs surged by 7%. Also, rents for housing soared by 8.3% last month, fueled by a 21.4% surge in rents for apartments.
The cost of restaurants and hotels rose 6.5% due to a 6.6% rise in catering services, while transport costs increased by 2.7% because of a 3.2% rise in the costs of motor cars.
While the prices of education moved up by 3.1 due to a 4.6% rise in pre-primary and primary education fees, personal goods and services prices edged down by 0.6% due to a decline in domestic workers' recruitment fees to the tune of 7.2%.
However, the CPI in February edged down by 0.1% in February compared to the previous month.
