The consumer price index (inflation rate) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia increased by 3.4% in January 2023, compared to January 2022.
According to Arabiya.net, the General Authority for Statistics attributed the rise to the increase in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel prices by 6.6%, and food and beverage prices by 4.2%.
The authority stated that actual housing rents increased by 7.7% in January 2023, which reflects the increase in apartment rental prices by 19.3%.
Food prices increased by 4.3%, affected by the increase in the prices of meat and poultry by 6.1%, and affected by the increase in the prices of milk and egg products by 15.8%.
On a monthly basis, the inflation rate in Saudi Arabia increased slightly by 0.2% last January, compared to December 2022.
The consumer price index (inflation rate) for December 2022 increased by 3.3% compared to the same month of 2021. The inflation rate in Saudi Arabia increased in December from the level of 2.9% recorded in November 2022.
The Statistics Authority attributed the rise in the inflation rate last December, on an annual basis, to the increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 5.9%, and the prices of food and beverages by 4.2%.
The average annual inflation of consumer prices in Saudi Arabia reached 2.5% for the year 2022, compared to the annual average for the year 2021. This development in prices is attributed to the increase in food and beverage prices by 3.7%, and transportation by 4.1%, which is the biggest upward pressure on inflation.
For his part, Professor of Finance and Investment at Al-Imam University, Dr. Muhammad Makni, said in a previous interview with Al-Arabiya TV, that there are imported and local inflation factors, while the first quarter of 2023 may record inflation between 3% and 3.5%.
