RIYADH — The inflation rate in Saudi Arabia slowed down to three percent during the month of October 2022, compared to 3.1 percent in the previous month of September. This drop in inflation was for the first time since last May, on a monthly basis, according to the data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Tuesday. On an annual basis, the inflation rate in Saudi Arabia rose during the last month of October to three percent, compared to the same month last year. In its report, GASTAT attributed the increase in annual inflation to an increase in food and beverage prices by 4.4 percent, and a hike in rates of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 3.3 percent. The authority explained that the food and beverage segment was affected by the increase in food prices by 4.6 percent, which in turn was affected by the increase in meat and poultry prices by 6.1 percent. The rise in this section had a significant impact on the rise in annual inflation in October 2022 due to its weight in the index, representing 18.8 percent. The authority added that the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels segment was affected by the 3.7 percent increase in housing rent. According to the data, the consumer price index for the month of October 2022 recorded a slight increase of 0.2 percent compared to the previous month as the monthly inflation index was affected by the rise in the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels and food divisions by 0.9 percent, which in turn was affected by the rise in housing rent rates by 1.1 percent.
