RIYADH — The inflation rate (consumer price index) in Saudi Arabia slowed down to 2.9 percent during the month of November 2022, compared to three percent in the previous month of October. The slowdown in the inflation rate was recorded for the second month in a row, on a monthly basis, falling to 2.9 percent in November and three percent in October compared to 3.1 percent in September 2022, according to the data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Thursday. The authority attributed the rise in the inflation rate during November, on an annual basis, to the increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 4.7 percent and the prices of food and beverages by 3.5 percent. The increase in the segment of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels was affected by the increase of 5.4 percent in rental prices paid for housing, which in turn was affected by the increase in apartment rental prices by 15.7 percent. The increase of this segment had a significant impact on the rise in annual inflation in November due to its relative weight in the index, which is amounted to 25.5 percent, the GASTAT statement said. The food and beverages segment was affected by the increase in food prices by 3.6 percent, which in turn was affected by the increase in the prices of meat and poultry by 4.5 percent. The inflation rate for the last month recorded a marginal increase of 0.1 percent compared to October 2022. The monthly inflation index was affected by the increase in the segment of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 1.4 percent, which in turn was affected by the increase in rental prices paid for housing by 1.6 percent, according to the GASTAT statement.
