The Saudi General Authority for Statistics said, on Thursday, that the rise in inflation during September was due to the increase in the prices of the food and beverage section by 4.3 percent, in addition to the increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other types of fuel by 3.2 percent.
The authority said in a statement that the rise in the food and beverages section was the biggest influence on the increase in annual inflation in September, given that it had the largest relative weight in the consumer price index.
The authority also added that the Transportation Department recorded a 3.8 percent year-on-year increase, affected by a 4.6 percent increase in vehicle purchase prices.
On a monthly basis, inflation in Saudi Arabia increased slightly in September by 0.3%, compared to August. The index was affected by a 1% increase in food prices, and an increase in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels prices by the same percentage.
The consumer price index in the Kingdom rose by 3 percent in August, on an annual basis, compared to 2.7 percent in July, due to the increase in the food and beverage division by 4 percent on an annual basis in August, and transportation increased by the same percentage, while housing rental prices rose 2.7 percent, and education 5.7 percent.
Despite the high inflation in Saudi Arabia, it is still at relatively low limits, in light of the significant rises in global commodity prices, which pushed inflation in the United States and Britain to the highest level in more than 4 decades.
Last July, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud decided to allocate 20 billion riyals to help families cope with price hikes.
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